The Mistake in the Invitation
by mayakasti
Summary: when her wide eyes shed tears and she nodded he crossed the room, went down on his knee and slipped the 2 karat diamond on her finger and kissed her, but he never uttered the words Love.
1. Chapter 1

**The mistake in the invitation**

"I am with someone Bones, Hannah, I love her, and she is not a consolation prize"

Those fateful words, slipped from Booth's conscious, not from his heart. He once told Brennan, I have never cheated on anyone before and he then emphasized his declaration by the word "ever", and he was not about to start now. He was not about to make the love of his life, the other woman in his life. So he held on to his morals and his decision to move on, put his heart along with hers and crashed both on the side of the road.

She told him, it would take her three days to adjust, and she did. She adjusted to the pain until it was replaced by numbness, she continued to work cases with Booth or at least they pretended to work the cases until he decided he is getting too old to chase criminals and took the promotion he has been denying himself. The promotion came with a not too big raise, but enough to move out of his apartment above the liquor store into a cozy house that he called home now. Of course he refused Hannah's offer to help with the down payment and liquidated some of his savings after discussing the matter with Rebecca who agreed that it is best for Parker to be raised (at least whenever he is with Booth) in a safer neighborhood. And so he moved, he was left with barely enough to buy a new TV, so he opted to take his old furniture with him. He was then the proud owner of the "Booth household" as Parker called it, the day they moved in.

His relationship with Hannah continued to grow; she was not only his girlfriend, his roommate now, but the person that he settled for. He was content; he smiled more often, whether it was because he now lived across the street from Rebecca and could see his son every day, or because Hannah was a person that brought so much positive energy into his home. He still called it, at least in his mind, his home. Hannah of course was part of it, but somehow when he looked at her at times, he felt like she came with the old furniture from his old apartment , they all look old and out of place, but regardless comfy and homey.

And once again, she adjusted to the change, the change in the dynamic, the change to the friendship, the change in the family and she moved on. She too moved out of her apartment the day Tye asked her to move in with him. Angela threw her a Good bye Apartment party and invited all their friends. They all came even Daisy and sweets but not Booth. He was not in their social circle anymore, so he was not extended an invitation. Every once in a while Booth and Brennan would accidentally meet at the coffee cart and have coffee. The first few times it was a coincidence, until they decided to agree to accidentally meet at the coffee cart on the 21st of each month. They would sit on the bench and drink coffee silently he would hold her hand, each move of his thumb across the palm of her hand telling her that everything is ok. They silently agreed they would not talk; they would stay for 21 minutes and then move each in their own direction since they do not belong to the same social circle anymore.

It has been the 21st time they meet, and like always he took the seat next to her, and as soon as he held her hand in the palm of his, he shivered as the cold metal on her finger touched his finger, the oversized rock on her ring sparkled and blinded his eyes. He closed them and took a deep breath holding it within his lungs, hoping he could keep holding it until their 21 minutes has ended. He knew he would broke the code and speak, but before his lips opened to speak, she tightened her hold on his hand, so he let out the breath he was holding and held the cup of coffee to his mouth filling his mouth with the bitter liquid.

Tye was a nice man, a gentleman, he treated Brennan with respect, and he cared deeply for her. He believed in her and what she does, and it helped that he was as wealthy as Hodgins if not more; he had enough to donate for all the causes she supported, so she appreciated him even more. Not that she cared for money; she had enough, a two lifetime enough. When he asked her out for the first time, at Angela and Hodgins little princess's first birthday, she could not turn him down. How could she, when he was holding Tara Montenegro-Hodgins in his arms carrying a blue rose matching her eyes, and his crooked smile on his thin lips, . He dropped her home that night, she offered him coffee and he agreed, the coffee turned to heated discussion about how all women loved roses, where she insisted that she did not and refused to tell him what her favorite flower was. So for a month after that he kept sending her different flowers everyday with the same note neatly tucked among the stems

"If these are your favorite, I will be waiting for your call, if not! There is always tomorrow – Tye"

Angela was going crazy, she had told Tye about Brennan's favorite flowers, but he kept sending the wrong ones on purpose, only because he was out of town and wanted to get her call once he was back in DC. And so he did, he sent her the daisies she liked and among them was a sole blue rose, and the card read this time

"Blue Roses are my favorites, meet me at Momos at seven, I will be the handsome guy with the yellow daisy – Tye"

And so she walked into Momo's the famous Moroccan restaurant and was surprised that he had invited her there. It was well known upscale restaurant where you needed a month's notice to book a table. She held the blue rose to her lips and spoke softly to it as soon as she reached him

"Can I have my daisy now?"

"as soon as I can have my rose" he whispered closing the distance, holding her fingers and lifting the stem. And so she let out a small laugh, he smiled back and held the short chair with the high back for her to be seated. The night was magical, not that Brennan believed in magic, but Tye was very charming, intellectual and had a good heart. His sense of humor was as awkward as hers so they laughed at their quirkiness and the expensive wine helped lightening the mood.

Tye, did not know Brennan well, but he compensated with his persistence and patience, he believed in trial and error, so when he made mistakes, he apologized profusely and learned from them. Six month later she was moving in with him and a year later she made him the happiest man on earth when she accepted his marriage proposal.

It has been two years, two years since that car incident, she hasn't thought about it for a while now, at least not while she was awake. In her dreams, Booth's words always haunted her, why did it still hurt her, she is with someone now, and did she love Tye? She was marrying him that must count for something. He never once told her he loved her, and she never did. Even during his proposal, similar to when he asked her out for the first time he used Tara Hodgins, he dressed the brown eyed toddler with a T-shirt that says I am Tye, and taught Tara the words marry me. He knew she never said no to her niece and she was not about to start then. So when her wide eyes shed tears and she nodded he crossed the room, went down on his knee and slipped the 2 karat diamond on her finger and kissed her, but he never uttered the words Love.


	2. Chapter 2

I appologise for not updating sooner, I was so tired that I slept the whole of yesterday, I am going through a mess at work, well good mess actually, and now I am back again. Here is today's chapter and I will be updating the next chapter very soon, so stay tuned, and let me know what you think.

The wedding was set for the summer, Hannah and Booth contemplated waiting for Parker to comeback from his summer camp to be in the wedding, and Hannah to finish few of her backlog assignments so she can take the well earned two weeks honeymoon with Booth. He was finally going to Hawaii, to swim with the sharks like he intended to almost half a decade back. "See, everything happens eventually" Hannah stated jokingly. She did not notice the frown on his face the minute she uttered the words. Those are meant for him and Bones, she was his eventually, he shook his head like he has done million times whenever Bones invaded his thoughts, and carried the brochures back to living room to continue planning his honeymoon with Hannah. But like everything else, he did everything by himself when it came to Hannah, not that she was weak and did not have her own point of view, but she loved Seeley too much and cared too little about any details concerning her life if it was not related to her Job. So Seeley planned, Shark adventures for him and Hannah, swimming with dolphins at sunset while he booked her an evening at the spa, a hiking trip for both of them, followed by hula dance lesson for her because he was never to be seen in a skirt ever. His honeymoon arrangements were perfect, at least on paper it was all set up. Hannah asked him if he wanted her to bring anything from New York, so he simply nodded and asked her to bring herself back and not to forget the overpriced wedding invitations she insisted on. He had let her have that one, she did not complain about the small wedding, nor about his choice of church and priest, or the fact that he picked the wedding dress, because this is how he imagined his bride would look like, or because she was too busy at work to pick up her wedding dress and she had lost her deposit on the dress and had to find a new one. Hannah was an Angel when it came to weddings, he expected Bridzella to emerge at sometime, but that only happened once, when she was adamant to order her wedding invitations from New York, designed by the one and only Luc de Marriage. So what if each invitation would cost him $40, it is not like he has many people to invite.

"I love you Seeley, I am going to miss you" Hannah told Booth between kisses, as she draped herself on top of him after a heated session of what they called a see you soon sex. He reciprocated her words peppered her hair with kisses, holding her close to him. The Booth household was always warm with declarations of love, Hannah and Seeley seldom spent time together, her schedule was busy, his job was demanding, not out on the field, but keeping an eye on all field agents in major crime investigation required him to stay late, analyze everything his agents dropped at his table after their long day at work, so Hannah and Seeley compensated the lack of quality time with lots and lots of sex and loving words to assure themselves of their connection.

"… I think you should pass by Luc while you are in New York and bring the wedding invitation we ordered, they must be ready by now, this way they will not charge the extras for shipment" Brennan stated logically

" It is not like we cannot afford it Temperance" Tye scolded gently

"Well, I know, but if you feel like paying the extras, I suggest you pass by anyway bring them to DC with you and I will cash in the difference and pay it to the charity" she warned him.

He nodded accepting her orders, Temperance always got what she wanted, leave it to her to spend 40$ on an invitation and still find a way to give back to less fortunate people. And he was a happy man to oblige, whatever Temperance wanted, he delivered. He did not need to be on the wrong side of his fiancé. She agreed to move in with him, after buying the pool house and the guest house on his property, so she could call the property her own, and kick him out of his own place if he the least misbehaved. She kept him on his toes; she never did anything by the half. It was all or nothing, she invested in this relationship as much as she invested in her job. She was content.

He placed a kiss on her head and headed to the front door, his small suitcase in his hand and as always he turned at the threshold to face her, waving his hand to her and saying "miss me" and like always she returned the words back to him "only if you do".

Just because Luc de Marriage was the world renowned (well let's see the US renowned designer) for bridal and wedding invitation, does not mean that his summer intern was a renowned person, or anything for that matter. Hannah was suddenly aware that her fiancé's name is misspelled on the 40$ invitation card, all 50 of them, well cross that not misspelled more like missing, who is Tye Brand, only the wealthiest man after the creator of Facebook, well maybe she should have a created her wedding invitations as a group on facebook that would have saved her a lot of time, energy, and fights with Seeley, Oh at least she would have gotten the name right. Now the invitation card was mocking her, no everything around her was mocking her, Hannah was marrying Tye Brand in less than 4 weeks, and she was trapped in mid air, on a plane back to DC. She cursed herself, for not having the time to check the invitations before, she cursed herself for chasing after yet another story, or at least she thought it was a story until it turned out to be a scam. She cursed herself for letting her journalist urges get the better of her instead of giving at least a minute to check the cards before boarding the plane, but of course she did not have the time to ensure they were right, because she was interested in the homeland security suspicious activities in the airport. She let out a loud laugh then stopped suddenly as the woman next to her eyed her suspiciously. Well it was funny, Tye Brand the Billionaire was getting married in a church, well delete that, in a rundown church.


	3. Chapter 3

I promised you people a new chapter soon, and here I am delivering, thanks for everyone who reviewed / added my story as their fav or added an alert, I really appreciate that, and I am happy that you are encouraging me to continue this story.

Temperance sat on her bed; her wedding invitation cards were beautiful, no! They were perfect, suddenly all this time, the voice in her head was silenced by the sound of her gut telling her that although something is wrong, it all seems right. She sighed, content, No! For the first time she was happy, excited and cannot wait for her wedding. The keys dropping on the marble counter served as an alert to her, "Tye is here" she thought to herself, Tye… she eyed the invitations once again, her eyes widened like saucers and her mouth opened in a silent scream to deity she did not believe in "Oh God! Booth" and her reality came crashing down on her. There on the Ice blue invitations her name was beautifully linked to one Seeley Booth, her ex- Partner, ex- Best Friend, ex- family.

"Do you believe in fate" he once asked her

"Of course not, ludicrous" she countered.

How can I not, she contemplated.

She closed the lid of the box, tightened the navy blue ribbon and put it away, when Tye asked her to see the invitations, she distracted him with the fact that she wanted to go out and have dinner with him. He agreed instantly. Temperance dressed casually and asked him to shed his suit jacket and lose the tie, because they were going someplace different tonight.

The place was packed, and she let out a relieved sigh, she was not ready to converse with Tye tonight, so a busy place with loud clanking of dishes and beer bottles served the purpose. The Founding Fathers was not their usual, she had promised not to step into that joint ever again, but tonight something else was guiding her, and it was sure not her rational mind. She took a long swig from her beer bottle and faked painted a faint smile on her lips that never reached her eyes. Tye looked around, not bothered with his surroundings but felt unfamiliar with the place. Tye was not a snob, but he liked neat things, his cars, his home and his woman including where he would dine, and this place was anything but. His platinum cuff links looked too bright on his black crispy dress shirt. Tye always looked impeccable no matter where or when you saw him, his well coiffed hair, his ruler trimmed beard and moustache to his mirror shiny shoes. And there in the corner of his eyes he watched her staring at a corner, he followed her line of vision, but saw no one in particular, he could read that she was lost in her thoughts, as if she was trying to relive memories that he knew nothing about. His long soft fingers touched her elbow to guide her closer to him, he moved closer and spoke into her ear "Temperance, I thought we were going to eat"

She shook her head and looked at him "yeah Tye, in a minute, Joe here will find us a table"

"We are eating here?" his question was uttered in a hint of disgust

" yeah Tye, here, live a little" she scoffed.

Twenty minutes later, she was munching on a Caesar salad and him picking the olives from his Greek salad appalled by the fact that the joint used Spanish olives instead of the authentic Greek, or even Middle Eastern. He stopped for a second and looked at her intending to ask her what she meant about her comment to live a little. He was living large, he went to the best places, took her on her yet best dates – She once confessed that to him – but he could not continue his line of thought, for she looked so happy sitting there and he could not bring himself to start an argument. He had promised himself once, and he was a man of his word, whatever Brennan wanted, Brennan got. And if she wanted to dine here then he would bite his tongue and pretend to enjoy it.

Hannah walked into the house giggling; Booth was reciting a song she thought he must have picked up from one of the Disney's movies he watched with his son while she was away. Not only did booth mix up the words but he changed them and now the so romantic innocent song sounded very evocative. Disney's a whole new world turned into a whole nude world with the way Booth was singing it, she lifted her blouse and walked away from him, while he ran after her holding her close holding her close to his chest looking seriously at her and continuing his off tune humming " hold your breath, it gets better" he sang, but at the moment she could not hold her breath or hold herself from bursting into laughter, she just nodded, put her arms around him and closed the distance between them. She intended to kiss his lips but she was shaking so much that she missed his lips and kissed his jaw instead. In attempt to continue this fun evening, she thought it is the best time to approach him with her own cracked joke, she pushed him gently walked to her handbag and held the invitation to the wedding in her hand extending it to him. He smiled and wiped his hand on his jeans in effort to dry his hands well, he did not need to ruin a perfectly fine 40$ invitation, but as soon as he laid eyes on it, his humming stopped he stood still and watched Hannah still shaking from her previous laughter.

"Hannah" he warned "What is this?"

"The wedding invitation silly" she countered

"Ok, but why does it have Tye Brand's name on it?"

"Well they screwed up, apparently Tye Brand has ordered his invitations at the same place and they swapped the Groom's names, so obviously your name is on his invitation" She explained

"Oh , Ok, so are they sending the new ones by courier?" he worriedly asked

"I will call them tomorrow to tell them of the mix up, I could not use my phone on the plane and….." Booth stopped her mid sentence

"Woooh there Hannah, stop for a minute, let me get this straight, you only saw this in the plane on the way back, why didn't you check them when you collected them? Oh wait, doesn't answer that, you did not even go yourself to collect them did you Hannah?"

"Seeley, I….." she started to come closer to him but he held his hand in front of him keeping her at arm's length away from him

"No Hannah, don't, I am tired and I do not want to hear your excuses or the corrupt politicians' stories that kept you busy in New York, I am just going to go to see Parker, I promised him I will see him before he leaves tomorrow for his Camp"

"Seeley, come on, this is an easy fix, I will call them tomorrow and it will all be alright, don't go, you can see Parker in the morning, I will wake you up early"

Booth didn't know what was pulling his string, and getting his underwear in a twist now, the fact that the invitations were wrong, or the fact that his fiancée cared too little to check them or the fact that she asked him not to go and see his son so he turned on his heels and walked out before he could say anything in anger.

This was his relationship with Hannah, she took things easy, took everything lightly and believed that anything can be fixed, as long as she did not have to put an effort to fix it herself, he knew she would get too busy tomorrow chasing another story and he will end up with the mess to clean up. And GOD! Was he tired?


	4. Chapter 4

_**Anyone watched yesterday's episode of Bones, Total let down for me, just for the fact there was so little time of B&B in it. Agh! It is getting ridiculous but I guess in real life this is how things go. Anyway, hope you will enjoy this next chapter. It is Boneless or Bonesless, this one is all about Booth. **_

"Hey little man" Booth smiles as he walked in into his son's bedroom. Rebecca was surprised to see him again, he had said goodbye to his son earlier and he was supposed to spend the evening with his girlfriend, but Rebecca was too smart to ask what happened, she just eyed him knowingly, after living close to Booth the past couple of years, she had her fair share into his life. She knew when trouble was in paradise. Booth would never tell her of course, but one thing about Rebecca, the connection she had with Booth was not limited to Parker, she could read him like an open book. She understood him more than she let on. He returned the look she gave him, as if silently begging her not to start. They had this conversation before, and he would not get into it again.

_Couple of months ago_

_Booth was sitting on the couch at Rebecca's place, his son had just gone to bed, and Booth was waiting for Rebecca to come back from her date so he could go home. _

"_Hey Seeley, is Parker asleep yet" Rebecca asked_

"_yeah, Becs, half an hour ago, I hope you don't mind, I used up the meat balls in the fridge to make dinner for the two of us, he was tired after finishing up his school project and did not want to go out for food"_

"_Sure no problem Seeley, but you will have to give me your balls" she teased him_

"_Very funny Becs, your date, didn't have any" he mocked_

"_Seriously Seeley, jokes aside, why are you cooking in my house on Sunday?"_

"_I told you Becca, Parker was tired and…." _

"_stop Seeley, you know exactly what I mean, you spend a lot of time with parker" she spoke fast before he cut her train of thought "which I am really happy about, Parker is at an age where he needs his dad, but most of the time you come and take him out or spend your time at the house, he rarely goes to yours, I don't even remember the last time he spent the night at your house"_

"_What Rebecca, you want me to take him so you can have a wild sex night with boy of the week" he was angry now_

"_Don't go there Seeley, I am not discussing this with you and you have no right, it was your son that came running home the other day for a change of clothes because he outgrow all the T-shirts at your house, which only means he is not spending anytime there, so is it Hannah?, because when I asked him, he refused to say anything"_

"_Rebecca …What are you talking about, Hannah and Parker get along fine, you've seen them at his Birthday….." he stopped talking for a second and then blushed with embarrassment, if the last encounter of Parker and Hannah he could remember was at Parker's Birthday, it means that Hannah had not seen parker in over 7 months. "Oh God!"_

"_Exactly, Seeley let's pray that whatever this is can be fixed before it is too late"_

_Present Day:_

"Hey little man" Booth called to his son as soon as he entered his room

"Hey Dad, and you have to stop calling me little, there is nothing little about me" Parker moved away from his dad before he could touch his hair

"Is that so?" Booth smirked, Parker was getting older, he was not the kid he once was, he was closer a strong built teenager, his muscles started showing from all the sports he played but his blond curls were still hiding his innocent face.

"Yeah, and dad, would you please not call me Park, or Parko when you are picking me up from school, it is embarrassing, and Avan said the other day that parko is a brand of liquid wax polish" his voice was breathless now after finishing his pushups

"Ah ok, so who is this Avan guy?" Booth asked

"Avan, is a girl, she is Persian, or at least her name is, it means Waters, she is smart and nearly beat me at basketball last week"

"ok! Promise!, I will not call you Parko in front of your girlfriend" Booth held both hands up in surrender

"DAD!" Parker whined "She is not my girlfriend yet" as soon as the word yet slipped from Parker's mouth he blushed and turned his face and busied himself pretending to add some more stuff to his already packed backpack.

Booth walked to the bed, sat down and patted the space next to him " I am going to miss you son, write when you can and call if you need anything, and be a gentleman" Booth finished his sentenced by placing his arm around parker's shoulders and held him close.

"I will dad, the camp is going to be awesome, thanks for agreeing to send me, I know you wanted me to go sports camp, but this one is an amazing opportunity for me, I really like art and I want to learn how to draw all sorts of things, and they said they will teach us about doing portraits, isn't it great, I promise if I am good enough by the end of this summer, I will do a portrait of you, like the ones they hang in museums, cause you know you are so old" Parker laughed and jumped behind his dad to hide himself under the covers.

It was the only time Booth was truly happy, whenever he was with his son, although parker was an overachiever in almost everything, Booth and Rebecca were surprised that his true passion was art. He studied hard and got his grade up only to convince his parents to let him use all the free time to enroll in after school art programs. He played sports because it was something he shared with Booth; otherwise he spent most of his time drawing things.

"Goodnight son, I love you" Booth said before turning off the light and walking towards the door.

"Goodnight dad, and thanks for postponing the wedding until I am home"

"You are the best man Parker, I won't have it any other way" Booth softly said before turning and closing the door.

He sighed as he walked downstairs to meet Rebecca's prying eyes. He was tired from his job, tired chasing after all the wedding plans, tired of not fighting with Hannah, tired of not being able to feel his heart beating fast, tired of not having a friend to share with, so he simply dropped on the couch and accepted the beer that Rebecca offered. He took a long swig and rested his head on the back of the couch and closed his eyes for a moment.

He was lost in thought; he did not notice that he was verbalizing every emotion in words.

"She doesn't talk to me, we just sit there and hold hands, we haven't spoken in over a year I miss her voice" Booth almost cried

Rebecca was shocked, how could he not talk to his girlfriend in over a year where she was living with him, one look at him and the truth came crashing. He missed Temperance, it is her he is talking about.

Rebecca got up from her seat, and went down to sit next to him on the couch, and as soon as she placed her hand on his shoulder reassuringly, he opened his eyes. He took a deep breath trying to prevent his tears from flowing down their rightful path.

"What is wrong with me Rebecca?" Booth asked rhetorically, not expecting an answer

"Go home Seeley, I don't know what happened between you and Hannah, but you need to talk it out, you have been busy planning this wedding, taking care of Parker and working hard at the FBI to earn you vacation, you forgot to work on your relationship with your fiancée. Just go home, get some rest and tomorrow talk to Hannah"

He leaned his head on Rebecca's shoulder sighed, he did not want to face Hannah tonight, he wanted a break from everything, from happy go lucky girlfriend from everything, he just wanted to sulk, he wanted to feel something anything, even if it is sadness, he was sick of numbness. So he begged Rebecca to let him stay the night on the couch and she could not refuse him while he looked like broken hearted.

Rebecca called Hannah half an hour later telling her that Booth fell asleep while talking to Parker and that she can come in the morning to wake him up and say bye to Parker herself. Hannah as usual in her easy going nature thanked her and told her that she was leaving to work earlier than usual and that she would call Seeley later on in the day.


	5. Chapter 5

_**We had Booth in the previous chapter, this one is dedicated to Brennan. I will not be addressing Hannah and Booth's fight or lack thereof in this one, that's for another chapter. Stay tuned and let me know what you think. **_

…..

"Mmmmm! , this is nice" Temperance moaned in appreciation to Tye's soft kisses to her shoulder blades. He chuckled softly and held her around the waist telling her to wake up, because she has an early flight to catch. They had discussed the error in the invitations the night before after their dinner and it was decided since Tye was on a tight schedule with board meetings for this week, the only logical solution would be for Temperance to fly to New York and sort out the invitation cards issue. It was no hassle for her at all, she was scheduled to be flying to New York for a meeting with a publishing house two weeks prior to the wedding and she was happy that she could get that out of the way at the same time.

A quick phone call to Rafi , Tye's personal assistant and all her travel arrangements were done. Brennan was to stay at the Tye Warner Penthouse on 52nd floor of the tallest hotel in New York, the Four Seasons. Of course this is what Tye always booked for them whenever they were in New York, but anytime she traveled alone, she almost always altered her reservations to a charming small hotel on Madison Street. The "Library" hotel was designed to feel more like a private club than an actual hotel, each of the appointed accommodations were individually adorned with art and a collection of books that relate to the room's unique theme. The 6000 book volumes organized throughout the hotel by the Dewey Decimal System helped Temperance feel home away from home.

"Ah! Dr Brennan, it is good to see you again, I have your room ready for you, it is on the 5th floor this time, so the theme is Language" The young receptionist explained

"Thank you Raven" She accepted the Key Card and headed straight to her room to freshen up. The Room was smaller than usual, but it had a very romantic feel to it, no wonder since the theme of the room was Romance language. She smiled, was romance a language, Tye would think this is stupid, Booth on the other hand would think of it as very endearing, but what did she think, and why would she care what Booth would think of it, she hadn't let herself think of him for a long time now, she shook her head, and associated her thoughts with the erroneous invitation cards.

She placed her phone on the nightstand, and moved towards the library in the room tracing her finger on the old books waiting there on the shelves for an inquisitive guest to be held, opened and read. She had a few hours to kill before dinner, she could read now, or better go to Luc and get the error rectified so she can spend the next few days reading on the Poetry Terrace of the Hotel. She loved it there; she could lose herself in her own thoughts, dreams and hopes there. Was she running, she always questioned herself whenever she took the time off to come to New York, She never lied to Tye about the reasons for her trips there, but it was not always necessary to be here in person, but she always jumped to the opportunity. And here she is now, a week's trip in another state, away from her fiancé right before her wedding. Angela would have something to say about this. Why is she thinking of Angela and would her best friend know, she married the love of her life. Is she not in love with Tye, God "sometimes I cannot even follow my own mind, Slow down Bones" she thought to herself, and then chuckled at the use of the nickname, she missed the nickname. Once Tye called her Bones, or at least she thought he was calling her but it turned out he was just doing the crossword puzzles, she had wondered if the hint to the word Bones in the newspaper was " Partner of Booth, working at the Jeffersonian institute" or was it simply "rigid organs that form part of the endoskeleton of vertebrates". Half an hour later and a quick conversation with Tye, telling him that she had changed her hotel reservation and was now staying at the library hotel in Manhattan, of course Tye did not mind, he knew she would feel too guilty about staying in the 10,000$ a night penthouse, yet he always booked it for her, she was on her way to Luc.

Several apologies from Luc himself, after promising her he would deal with the intern himself, but will not fire them at her request; the new invitations were sent to be printed and would be ready for pick up in three days. She made her way out of the boutique turning her head one more time to say bye to Luc, she bumped into a rigid surface, she lost her balance and was just about to fall on the last step, she was held upright by a strong muscular body

"OOmmph…Uh!" She could not form a word, her ankle twisted and she was holding it in her hand while her arm was around the person holding her upright.

"Sorry, I did't mean to, oh God are you ok" he said apologetically

"Temperance" …. "Booth" They said at the same time, as soon as she looked up to see who was holding her.

"What are you doing here?" again they said in unison.

"Ok , hold on, are you ok, are you hurt?" Booth said.

"I think the anterior talofibular ligament is partially torn, but I am not sure, I need to sit down and assess the situation" she said in her best scientific tone, trying not to alert him that she was hurting like hell.

"Yeah, you sprained your ankle, I know, hold on to me, you can rest up there in the shop, and we can have a look at it"

"I am fine Booth" she started saying, but as soon as she placed her foot down, the pain shot through her and held on tighter to him "but thank you, I appreciate your help" she continued.

Luc, came running, as soon as he saw Brennan half limping, he dragged a chair from around the desk and shot a look to the intern to get up and then barked orders for him to go and get some ice.

An hour later, Brennan shot down Booth's pleas to take her to the hospital but accepted his offer to share a cab straight to the hotel. She reminded him that she would know if anything was broken and she assured him as always that she can take care of herself. Booth took the opportunity while she was icing her foot for twenty minutes to talk to Luc about his own wedding invitations and soon they were on their way to their hotel. Or at least Booth thought since he hadn't booked a place yet, he could get a single room where she was staying; he was just hoping she was not staying at one of the 7 star hotels, or the Ritz for that matter. He was relieved when they reached Madison Street and saw the charming little place; it looked like somewhere he could afford. Little did he know that the cheapest rack rate he would get at this place is a 700USD room for the night.

Getting Brennan out of the cab and into the hotel turned to be a challenge and very awkward, but they managed, she kept her distance and held on to the railing as the elevator began to ascend to her 5th floor, as soon as the door of the elevator opened he closed the distance between them and carried her bride style out of the elevator towards her room before she could complain.

The antiques chandeliers in the corridors provided a dim light, he walked slowly, afraid to trip while she was in his arms, he held her close to his chest. As soon as he reached the room, reality came crashing on him, he was carrying her bride style, she was in his arm, at the threshold, of the romance language room, the air was sucked out of his lungs, his throat was dry, so when he first called her name to gain her attention she did not hear him, he tried again, softly, she looked at him with her big blue eyes, he saw pain, was it her ankle? Or was it something else? he was not sure.

"Temperance, Bones"

"Huh"

"The key" he said

"Yeah, hold on" she said as she placed the key in the slot

"Don't worry, I won't let you fall" the words left him before he could stop them.

The door opened and he had to move, the threshold was mocking him, you carry her in your arms, you place her in the bed, but she is not yours, will never be yours.

His heart was beating fast now, he was grateful for the interruption of the Room service right behind him bringing the ice pack they ordered at the reception as soon as they arrived.

He placed her on the bed and gave her the ice pack. She placed it on her ankle. He walked around the bed, carrying a pillow and placing it under her foot.

"Thanks Booth"

"No problem Temperance, get well soon" do you want me to get you anything else. I am just going to go down to the reception to book a room.

"No thank you Booth" she said

She saw him walking out, and she felt pain, it wasn't the pain from her sprained ankle, the pain was in her chest, she felt it every time they met and they parted, but this time it was stronger, like her chest is closing in on her, it was not rational. She felt like she was losing him again, and she could not let that happen. Her voice sounded panicked and louder than she intended to be

"Booth, Stay"

"huh, What?"

"Stay, have dinner with me, I haven't eaten anything the whole day, and it is not like I can walk and open the door for room service to come in, so please"

Booth agreed, it was a rational decision, right? He needed to eat as well, it had nothing to do with longing to be with her, nothing to do with the fact that he wanted to hear her voice and nothing to do with having as much time with her as he can get before they part again, and this time it could be forever. At least this is what he convinced himself.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Thanks everyone for the lovely reviews, although I am not replying directly to them, but trust me they are helping me write as fast as I can. **_

_**I am happy you are reading and enjoying the story, it is past 3:25 am here, and I just finished this chapter, I have the next one written but I was not very happy with it, my mind is telling me to write something, but my characters are writing their own story, so I will update soon, but wanted you to enjoy this one. The chapters are getting longer (not sure why). **_

_**Again Enjoy, I am back to work tomorrow- or today actually in 3 ½ hours, need to catch some Zzz before that. **_

_**Goodnight.**_

The evening turned out to be series of awkward moments, he was not sure where to sit, the room had a small chair that he could bring by the bed, except the chair was more like a foot stool placed right in front of a dresser, so sitting on it for the whole evening was not going to be comfortable for him, and joining her on the bed was not a good idea, he thought to himself. He had helped her to get off the bed and into the bathroom, but had to leave her to do her business on her own. Maybe staying was not the brightest idea, but leaving now would be worse, he could not just pick up and leave while she was changing her clothes in there, he had to talk to her, but what would he say?.The knock on the door brought him back out of his reverie, at least the food is here, he can busy himself with food, and then he could excuse himself and leave, maybe she would get tired early and ask him to leave. His thoughts were running wild, or was it him running after his wondering mind? He took a deep breath, paid the bill, this is the least he could do, buy her dinner, right? He could not just sign the bill to her room that would be wrong. As soon as he placed the tray on the bed, he knew it was settled, he would bring the foot stool sit on it and share a meal with Temperance Brennan.

"Booth, did you sign the bill?"

"Yeah, Temperance, I got the food, I paid cash"

"But why? You should have charged it to the room, I invited you to dinner, remember?"

"Well, yeah, see you invited me , and here I am returning the invitation, so let's call it even" he grinned

She was confused for a second, but then her lips turned upward and her smile reached her eyes, this was Booth, can twist anything and make it sound logical, she missed this, Tye was too serious, albeit honest and candid, he is just what Angela would call hightight or was it uptight, she was not sure, but she heard once Angela telling Hodgins to ask Tye to remove the Hay that was sticking up his ass. (Whatever that expression meant, maybe she should ask Booth to explain, after all Booth was always her reference when it came to expressions and idioms).

She mounted the bed, and once again Booth helped her get settled comfortably and elevated her ankle by placing several pillows under her foot, and he replaced the ice pack with the new one brought with Dinner. They ate in silence for the most part, until both of them stopped at the same time and burst out laughing, the whole situation was crazy, he sat on the bed facing her, as she continued to laugh she pointed to her handbag and managed between laughs to ask him to bring it to her, she got the invitation card out and gave it to him. He grew serious, he knew she was getting married, but seeing her wedding invitation make it all the more true, all this time, two years almost of not talking to each other, they finally broke the stalemate and acknowledged that they are moving on. She told him to go on, to open the card. Seeing her name linked to another man's name would be heartbreaking for him, however he did not know that his heart will be crushed the second he saw his name on the wedding invitation knowing that it was fake, it was not true and this was just an error.

"Temperance" his tone was serious now, he his eyes bore into hers, seeking an explanation, he already knew. He was not sure what he was asking her to explain, but still he moved closer to the bed, sat on the edge out the invitation open in front of her.

What was he doing, was he showing her what they could have had, it was him that returned with a girlfriend from Afghanistan, it was him that changed jobs and moved on. She only rejected him once, but he rejected her every day since then.

They stayed like this watching each other for a minute, or was it more, the silence was deafening until the shrilling sound of her cell phone broke their moment. She answered the phone without looking the caller ID expecting it to be Tye, and not sure what she would say to him.

"Sweetie", Angela's high pitch tone on the other line brought her back into reality

"Hi Angela" Brennan answered, she intended to let Booth know who was on the line, he looked troubled and unconsciously she wanted him to relax.

"I met Tye today, and he told me about the invitations, is it true, they screwed it up, Oh God these things happen sweetie, don't worry about it, I am sure Luc will fix it in no time" as usual Angela was rattling on and on, at least Brennan was grateful that Tye did not mention whose name was it on the cards. Temperance was worried when she showed it to him, she thought he will ask questions, but it turned out she rarely spoke about her past with Tye, and she did not even remember if she ever mentioned Booth to him, and apparently neither did Angela.

"Angela, was there something you wanted to tell me, is everything alright at the lab"

"Yeah sweetie, everything is fine, don't worry about a thing, actually I think you should take your leave beginning today, not that we don't need you at the lab, but usually people take leave of absence before their wedding" Angela explained

"Yeah says the person who got married in a jail cell during a case" Brennan retorted.

"Bren, well that was another time, we don't work cases anymore, remember?" Angela snapped back

Although Angela was happy that her best friend was now content with her life and getting married, she could not be but slightly bitter about what life has done to the most amazing heart breaking love story she had witnessed and could not but blame her friend sometime for screwing it up.

"Angela, I will be back in DC at the end of the week, I am here to meet the new publishing house, as they are interested in the new character I introduced in my new story and they wanted to discuss a new series of books" Brennan was not sure why she was discussing this now, she needed time away from everything that happened with Booth and this will bring some sense of normalcy.

"Ok sweetie, see you then, don't forget, we are still doing the bachelorette night out on Sunday, so come before that, I have to go Tara is way past her bedtime"

"Kiss Tara for me Angela, I will see you soon" She flipped her phone shut and placed it next to her on the bed.

Before the awkwardness could return, Booth had decided to change the tone of the evening and decided that he missed bickering with her so much, he was going to tease her about everything he heard in the conversation.

"So Temperance, first, you seriously need to change that ring tone, wait I will send you one from my phone right away, now that this is out of the way, what the hell is wrong with this Luc guy and wrong names on invitations, I am getting mine in three days, what about you?" before she could answer he went for another question, so Angela and Hodgins have a daughter huh ?"

"Okay, she dragged the sound of the okay longer to give her time for the right come back, well thanks for the ringtone, and I have no idea what is wrong with Luc, but I assume it is the incompetent intern he hired this summer, plus I never figured you would go to Luc for wedding invitations, was it Hannah's choice? She raised her eyebrow"

"Was it yours?" he asked

She shook her head, and he understood, "and yes Angela and Hodgins toddler is Tara, she is almost two and very bright kid, she looks like, wait I have a picture of her here in my phone"

As soon as she opened her phone and turned the application to the photo album, she regret it, she had very few photos on her album, and Booth was sitting close to her and could see the small icons representing the photos there. All five of them, one of her and her nieces, Russ's stepdaughters, one of a little girl not more than a few hours old, he assumed it would be Tara, the day she was born, another one of a toddler with curly brown hair and piercing blue eyes, she looked a blended combination of Angela and Hodgins, and one of Zach smiling on the day he received his doctorate, the last photo took his breath away, it was of Parker with his face painted with Angela's colors. He smiled at the memory of that day, Parker wanted his dad to get sexed up so he could get a pool.

Temperance opened the photo of Tara and handed him the phone, but he moved it to the photo of Parker and was lost in thought for a minute, he looked at her and handed her the phone back.

"Beautiful, Perfect" he mumbled.

"Yeah, very true" she acknowledge as soon as she saw the picture, she knew he meant the memory of them sitting in the diner with his son, after he had asked to be Parker's village. Parker had said she was cool.

He then asked about her new books, the ones she mentioned to Angela, he also teased her about Kathy's new interest.

"Come on Temperance, he is so boring, good hearted and kind, but right out boring, and there is definitely a stick up his ass"

"Tye does not have a stick up his ass" she defended

"I never said anything about Tye Temperance, I am talking about Seth, in your Book, is he based on Tye? Your Tye, hooo wooo Temperance, you so cannot marry him" he said jokingly

She was nervous now, and he was getting in her face

"So does that mean you can admit that Andy was based on me, huh Kathy?" his warm breath was tickling her now, he was so close to her his lips less than inch away, both their nose in the way, if she would tilt her head to the right she would have her lips slanted on his. So she froze, she was not one that would back out of a challenge, and Booth had taught her so much about monogamy that she could cheat, she was trapped, so the only thing she could do is throw him off balance, so she told him the truth

"You have always known Andy was you, it was always you"


	7. Chapter 7

_**How many chapters do I need to write to get these two through the night, I am not sure. But let me tell you the next chapter will be in the morning. Join Booth and Brennan on this journey and remember things have to get worse before they get better. **_

_**I hesitated writing this, my husband even suggested that I change it, but Booth and Brennan were adamant and insisted to tell you all the exact truth of what happened. So I am only telling you their story I have nothing to do with it. So don't kill the messenger.**_

His emotions were riding a roller coaster for the whole evening, it did not help that he was not sure how to set the mood, one moment he was close to kissing her, then the next he was teasing her, and now his anger was bubbling inside of him if not for the fact that she looked so weak and vulnerable and so small on the large bed he would have acted differently. He wasn't sure if he could call it temporary insanity but he was out of his body now watching the scene unfolding.

"Kiss me" he said as he brought his face close, his eyes never leaving her

She shook her head slightly indicating that it was not right. He would have felt rejected if only she did not tilt her head preparing herself for what was coming. So he said again

"Temperance, Kiss me"

She closed her eyes for a second, breathing in his scent and softly said no.

It was not right what he was asking her to do; he knew it deep inside him that this was wrong yet he could not stop himself.

"Kathy, Kiss me" he used her name in the book, as a way of convincing her that they could at least have a fantasy, and it would not be real.

But when this did not stir any reaction from her, he knew using the next line would be a low blow even for him, he licked his lips preparing himself for what was coming next, he moved his lips towards her ear and whispered "Bones, Kiss me"

The minute she heard her given nickname, she knew she lost her inner battle, she crashed her lips to him sucking the air out his lungs, he held her head in his hands afraid she would stop, her velvet tongue darted out and touched his in a Ah! Sweet sensation, and now he lost all control, he opened his mouth to give her everything and take everything she was offering. They stayed like this until her sweet moans turned to sobs, and her sweet lips turned to salt from all the tears pouring out of her eyes.

He stopped then, but she continued kissing him, until she felt him not responding, she moved back a little shy, afraid. What have they done?

He held her face in the palm of his hands, wiping her tears with the pads of his thumbs, ever so gently and closed the distance between them once more to give her one more chaste kiss before moving away.

"I am sorry Bones, I am so sorry". She was not sure if he was apologizing for the kiss, for not talking for two years, for leaving her, for coming back with Hannah from Afghanistan, or for proving to her that she was right all this while, Biological urges are highly ranked and we always act on them, it is an anthropological inevitability.

He moved away from her, one last apology left his mouth, before opening the door of her room, and slipping out.

She buried her face in her pillow sobbing for what happened, for opportunities lost and for giving in to her heart. Outside the room Booth was burying his face in his arms barely holding it together. When he could not hear her crying anymore, he moved away, wiped his tears and headed out into the night.

Two hours later, he walked back to the hotel, intending to book a room; he needed to be close to her in case she needed his help with her foot, at least if he kept telling himself that, he might believe it. The night manager was very courteous to him, having seen him with their favorite guest facilitated providing him a room on the 5th floor at an affordable rate, although he was ready to pay the full 700$ for it.

As soon as he checked in, and unpacked his small backpack, that had another pair of Jeans and two T-shirts, he dropped on the bed to catch some shut eye. He had booked the room for the next three nights, he had no pressing issues at work, now that he is not a field agent he was able to take more unplanned leave than before. The beep on his phone alerted him to a text message; he opened and smiled

Miss you, had a great time today. you will be happy to know we have to play sports in the morning. Tell mom I love her – Park O ;)

Booth sighed, Parker was always a constant in his life, and he was thrilled he was finally able to clear all the issues between him and Rebecca, Parker was a great kid, thoughtful, happy and kind, he deserved two loving parents. He rarely had problems at school or with his friends, he did however seemed cold and distant whenever the subject of Hannah was brought up, and now that he thought of it, Hannah did avoid him. He knew Hannah was nervous around kids, but he thought after their first encounter, they had gotten closer, they appeared friendly whenever he saw them together, come to think of it, the last time they were together the three of them, was when Booth was sick with flu and Parker was at the house checking up on his dad. Parker had asked Hannah why wasn't she taking the day off to take care of his dad. That was long time ago.

He was lost in his thought when his phone beeped again, this time it was Hannah, and he could not help but slightly frown and feel guilty. He read the message and could not help but get irritated, here he was in New York, because his fiancée was too busy to call and get the invitations sorted out, although he never understood the need to order invitations from another state and there she was sending him a lovey dovey message telling him that she missed him and that she owe him big when he returns.

Yeah Hannah, who is keeping track, he thought to himself, not that he kept track of every time she cancelled on him, or pushed the limits to get what she wanted, she paid her dues, Hannah was great at paying back in Kind, she always made it up to him, but now he shivered at the thought, was he repulsed at the thought of being intimate with his fiancée, this was wrong, all wrong.

He decided to pick up a book from the library in his room, at least reading something boring as Ancient languages history will bore him to sleep and keep his brain from wondering to the room right across the hall from him.


	8. Chapter 8

_**A/N: Booth and Brennan are out of the Dark of Night but not out of the shadows yet.**_

_**Enjoy **_

The smell of the freshly brewed coffee coated the surroundings of corridors all the way to the terrace; Booth was sitting holding his second cup of the day close to his mouth, inhaling the smell enjoying the chirps of the few birds locked in the golden cages in the corner. He knew eventually will have to go down and check up on Brennan, but was too scared to do anything now, his restless night and lack of sleep did not help him sort out what he might tell her when he see her. Before he could dive deeper into his thoughts he felt a warm hand on his shoulder.

"Bones, what are you doing up" he jumped from his seat his shoulder right under her arm to hold her up.

"I am fine Booth, it is not hurting that much, although my hip got most of the abuse this morning, when I forgot my ankle was hurt and fell down in the shower" she explained confidently, as if nothing was the matter.

"Oh, Bones, you shouldn't have done that, you could have seriously hurt yourself, you should have called me" he instructed her in a very fatherly tone.

"I am not a child Booth, I can take care of myself, well obviously I forget this morning how to, but I am sure it will come back to me, now are you going to let me sit down" she asked him with mock annoyance

"Oh, sure, here take my seat" he was not sure if she wanted him to sit with her, so he moved away slightly as soon as she was comfortable

"Where are you going?" she asked with slight panic in her voice

"Nowhere Bones, I just thought …." He trailed when he saw the look in her eyes begging him not to talk about the night before "just going to get you something to drink Bones, they have great coffee here" he gave her a weak smile.

She returned the smile gratefully, and as soon as he was out of her sight she sighed, she was surprised that after all this time Booth was still able to read her.

They sat silently, listening to the sounds of chairs moving and few pages flipping from nearby guests sitting close by having their morning coffee with books in the hands. She moved her hand slowly and placed it on his shirt, he took it as invitation to move his hand and close it around hers. They sat like this in this familiar state so many times before, granted not in New York, but every time they met by the reflecting pool back in DC they drew courage from holding each other hands.

"Bones" he called to her softly

"Don't"

But he shook his head, refusing to back out

"No Bones, I cannot pretend, I cannot do this anymore, hold your hand and pretend that everything is fine"

She called him by his name then to draw his attention "Please Booth"

He stood then moving the chair to face her, but kept her fingers enlaced with his

"Bones, we have to talk, we have to discuss what happened last night, or for that matter, we have to talk about what has been happening the past two years, and I need to know what will happen now, tomorrow and a…" he was about to say a year or 40 or 50 years from now, but he knew the last time these words came out of his mouth she panicked and ran and he was not about to lose her forever, not like this.

"I am with someone Booth, Tye is a good man" the words sounded awfully familiar to him, they broke his heart all over again, but wasn't him the one who used the same sentence, at least she did not say she loved him, or maybe she hasn't changed and she still does not believe in love.

It was his turn to panic now, how does he go from here. What is supposed to say, to save his heart, his soul his dignity and pride without causing her or himself any more pain for that matter.

"I know Bones, I am sorry, I should not have stepped a line, I shouldn't have kissed you yesterday"

"As far as I remember it was me who kissed you first"

"Yeah well, I pushed you, and I am sorry"

"I know, I am sorry too, you are a good man Booth" she ended the sentence abruptly before she adds any more tension to the already apprehensive condition they both they found themselves in.

He then weakly moved his hand from her holding his cup of coffee and taking a large gulp. Wanting to change the subject, he jumped to the next best thing he could think of besides kissing her.

"So would you do me the honor and have breakfast with me my friend" He emphasized the friend in order to give her some control back and not have her relent in accepting his invitation.

"I am not sure it is right Booth"

"Come on Bones, you gotta eat sometime, and we have been best friends for a long time, it would be fun, I will even let you have some of the delicious bacon I am going to order" he teased

"Booth! Have you forgotten that I do not eat meat?" She scolded

"No Bones, but have you forgotten that I always have to offer so you can start lecturing me about the benefits of organic vegetables fruits and rabbit food you have in the morning" he was grinning now

"Yeah, yeah, well I am not going to start now, obviously my years of lecturing you are over, plus it is not as if you listen, it will go to waste and I prefer to give my advice to someone who actually takes it"

"I will take your advise Bones, and eat some vegetables, I will tell you what, I will have some potatoes with my breakfast" he laughed out loud as soon as he saw the look on her face.

Breakfast was better, they ate, and they laughed and even discussed their jobs; however as if they wordlessly agreed not to bring up their significant other or their upcoming weddings.

Parker stole a big part of the conversation, stories they both shared from old times, and what Bones missed while they were away, he even told her about the not girlfriend that Parker has. Brennan let down her walls completely and by noon they were still sitting on the terrace talking when his phone started ringing. The flash of anxiety in her eyes at who the caller might be did not skip him, he attempted to ignore it but whoever was calling was insistent and he was left with only two options now. Either deliberately close his phone, or answer it.

Brennan chose not to comment on Booth short phone call; he did not need to tell her who it was on the other line, for if Booth's sincere apology for not calling in the morning did not give him away, his stuttering and surely his flushed face did. He ended the conversation on the other line as fast as he could and sighed.

"Booth, you can go back to DC today, I can bring the invitation with me, or ask Luc to mail them to you, that won't be a problem, I have to stay here anyway until I am mobile enough to travel plus I am meeting my publisher in a few days"

"No, I am not leaving you. I mean I am not leaving you alone. Uh! You know with your foot like this, plus it is not like I have much to do back in DC, I have take a few days off, I can stay, give you some company, make sure you don't fall and crack your hip next time you get out of bed" he finished

"And how are you going to do that, you will sleep with me. Uh I mean in the same room" she asked

"No, I mean I will call you early in the morning and remind you that you cannot walk"

"Well you can still do that while you are in DC"

"Yeah well, I will"

"Good"

"Good"

They both knew she meant he should call her when they are both in DC and it was past the initial talk of him going back.

"So what do you want to do for lunch Bones?"

"Booth" she scolded "you just ate a mammoth not long ago..."

"an elephant Bones, I ate an elephant, and no I am not hungry, I thought maybe with your foot hurting, you might want to rest and then maybe we can hang out watch a movie maybe"

"I don't know Booth, I am tired, I think I will head to my room and nap for a while"

He was disappointed but not for long before she added that he could bring in a book and read in her room later while she worked on editing some chapters of her latest book.

Booth took the opportunity while Brennan took her nap to go out and run few errands, he hesitated going into the flower shop before he convinced himself that she was hurt, and it is a custom to buy flowers for people on bed rest, especially when they are your friends. So couple of hours later, and a bag full of cookies, snacks and what not, and a single yellow daisy among a bouquet of daffodils he was on his way to her room.

"Bones, wakey wakey" he knocked on the door, before opening the door with the extra key card they got the reception to issue for him, since she was not supposed to walk around much on her foot. He entered the darkened room and watched her face illuminated by the lingering light coming through the drawn curtains.

He watched her silently not daring to move, afraid of waking her up, afraid of losing the moment of being able to watch her. She looked peaceful and beautiful. His legs betrayed him and walked him towards her, maybe his legs had more sense than his brain and heart, if she had woken up to him standing watching her, she would think of him as a pervert. So he bends down and softly called to her.

"Bones, wake up"

"mmmm"

He touched his finger to her forehead moving the strands of hair behind her ear and brought his mouth closer to her ear

"Bones, wake up"

When he moved his fingers to her face tracing her jaw again, she sharply slapped his hand

"Ouch Bones! That hurt what was that for?" he asked irked now

She opened one eye warily and asked him to sit down and find something to do or read before she is fully awake.

"Come on Bones, it is not like there is something to do in this room, there is no TV for god's sake, this place is overpriced for rooms with no TV/cable"

"Read something Booth"

She sounded exhausted, so when her breath evened indicating she went back to sleep he decided to let her rest for some more time. He scanned the books in her room and sat down on top of the covers next to her, and started reading. He was not going to be sitting on a foot stool waiting for her to wake up, plus he would notice before she is ready to awake he will be up on his feet and by the window before she would know about it.


	9. Chapter 9

Brennan awoke with a startle, something heavy landed on her arm, she opened her eyes to find an open book that looked like it fell of Booth's hand as he fell asleep on top of the covers right next to her in bed. She held the book in her in the palm of her hands and inhaled the aroma of the old page. Booth must have thought a book with a title The history of Romance languages is about Romantic encounters, she chuckled then placed her palm holding her breath as to not awake the sleeping man next to her. She tried to wiggle out of the bed and into her good foot without disturbing him. As soon as she locked the bathroom door, Booth opened his eyes and jumped out of the bed fixing his shirt and jeans.

"Hey Booth, you are awake" she smiled

"yeah Bones, did you sleep well?"

"it was satisfactory to gain me the energy needed" she turned looking at the Dafodils placed on the table and returned her gaze to him

"Booth what are those?"

"Flowers Bones, you are hurt, and it was partly my fault, so just accept them"

"How is that partly your fault, as far as I can remember, it was your entire fault" She teased him before sitting back on the bed and holding her hand out asking him silently to bring the flowers to her.

The petals tickled her nose as she inhaled fresh sweet scent of the flowers before placing them next to her on the nightstand.

"Bones, we would have watched a movie if there had been a TV in the room, and I can see we cannot actually go out because of well your foot, so the next best thing is we sit here and play a game"

"No Booth, I have to sit and edit my chapter, you can go out, see the place, you don't have to babysit me, I am fine"

"Well there is fault in your statement there, for one I don't want to go out alone, secondly you can do your editing tomorrow morning, I have to run some errands then so you could use that time to finish all the writing you need to do because comes lunch you are all mine" He regretted saying that as soon as it left his mouth, he prepared himself for the anthropological lecture of Alpha males claiming females as their own, when the lesson never came he sighed and moved to one of the bags he brought with him, and fetched the two deck of cards and held it in his hand as he came closer to the bed.

"So Bones, What is it going to be, fun evening playing cards with me, or me sitting bored and complaining the whole night" He gave her his best charm

As the evening progressed, it was suggested that Booth moves to the bed so they can continue their game of card, since Booth kept complaining that he was losing because he was sitting uncomfortably on a foot stool.

He was laying on his stomach now, his elbows resting on the bed and his head in his palm. They played, laughed, joked, ate the snacks and soon it was nighttime. With the last card played by Bones it was clear that Booth had lost this round as well he throw his cards behind him and placed his head on her lap.

As soon as his head hit her lap, she moved her hands away afraid to touch him, she hesitated before clearing her throat and calling softly to him

"Booth, what are you doing"

He turned his face without moving away from her and just closed his eyes momentarily before speaking with all honesty to her.

"Bones, I am so tired"

"Booth, if you are tired, you can go to your room and rest, I will see you tomorrow"

"Too literal Bones, I am tired Bones, I am tired" She could see tears forming in his eyes now, long gone the jokes and laughs they shared throughout the evening, she knew what was coming now is a serious discussion that they cannot run away from anymore.

"Tell me Booth" she asked him sincerely

He shook his head, but when she placed her hand on the top of his head, he let out his breath and with it she felt the tear that he was adamantly holding slipping down seeping through her trousers to her warm leg.

She remembered during their second case together booth told her you have to give a piece of yourself when you want to get information from people unlike skeletal remain, and since he was not a pile of Bones, the only way to get him to talk was to start herself.

"Booth, Tye always books this penthouse at the four season in NY whenever I come to meet my publisher, although he knows I feel uncomfortable there, he buys me blue roses because they remind him of my eyes, he gave me this as Angela calls it This Big Rock when he proposed"

She was not flaunting all the expensive stuff that Tye was able to afford to pamper her with, she knew Booth would read the meaning in her display and he did because the next thing she knew he was up sitting on the bed facing her and holding both her hands in his and telling her that he was sorry. Sorry that Tye did not know that she feels lonely when staying in a huge place all by herself, sorry that Tye did not know how much she valued her work and would have preferred a ring with an embedded diamond, something that she wouldn't require to take off to wear her latex gloves, and very sorry that Tye although meant well by getting her the unique blue roses, he was selfish because she always preferred Daisies and Daffodils. He was sorry that he did not know her, that although Tye wanted to give her the world, her favorite planet was Jupiter.

"Tell me Booth"

"I want to feel Bones, I am so tired that I am numb, and I want No I need to feel something, anything other than numbness, Please Bones" he was pleading now and not making any sense to her, she thought about telling him that, but then she could not bring herself to do anything but hold his head in both her hands and closing the distance between them and placing a tender kiss on his forehead.

The affectionate warm kisses moved from his forehead to his temple to his jaw until he took control of the situation and moved his head away a little regretting being so vulnerable in front of her.

"I am sorry Bones, I am so sorry"

She did not relent and brought his face back close to her and nodded to him, she wiped the tears off his cheeks gently and placed warm kisses on his eye then the other before moving down touching her lips to his.

This kiss was not like the first kiss they shared the night before, it was not about biological urges, it was about seeking the connection, healing of pain and drawing courage and strength from their long friendship. It was full of care and warmth and did not feel like cheating, it was full of honesty.

When she drew back, they did not apologize; they simply nodded a thank you to each other.

They stayed like this for several minutes until Booth's stomach grumbled and the spell was broken, she asked him to order dinner for both. He said he will go to his room and get the DVD he has in his backpack, it was a movie he brought for Parker, he thought they could play it on her laptop while they had dinner. He also needed the excuse to use the bathroom and to check on his phone, he had left his phone in his room charging.

As he suspected, he had several missed calls, one from Rebecca, two text messages from Parker and Hannah.

He avoided calling Rebecca; he knew the call was regarding the wedding, since he had asked Rebecca to check on the last of the arrangements while he was away, and since Parker message did not raise any flags he did not suspect the call from his ex had anything to do with his son. However he did not avoid calling Hannah.

Her text message was brief, telling him that she had to take another short trip and that the travel agency called while she was in a conference call and could not return the call to them and asked him if he could handle it.

"Hannah" he called to her as soon as she picked up the phone

"Hey Seeley, how is New York, did you get my message?"

"Yeah Hannah, I did, I will call them tomorrow"

"Thanks babe, I owe you"

And here it was that word again, how he started to resent it.

"Hannah, when are you back?"

This is how they conversation happened to be for the past few months, a lot of I love you, many more of I owe you's and several questions about when will you be back

"Seeley, you sound annoyed, it is not like you are home yourself"

"No Hannah I am not, and we both know why I am not home"

"Seeley, we had this conversation before, you know I need to finish these stories before we get married, plus if I do good job with this, I may be asked to tour with the presidential campaign.

"Hannah, what are you talking about, the presidential campaign starts in September that is right after our honeymoon"

"No actually it starts a day before we return from the honeymoon, that is why the travel agent were calling, I had to change my flight plans, I am returning one day in advance" she said nonchalantly

"Hannah, did you hear yourself, you want me to come back from our honeymoon on my own, you are touring with the campaign for how long a week, a month" he started to lose control now.

"Seeley, don't be silly, the campaign is for six month, they offer is to tour for 3 weeks and take a week off, you can join me on weekends, and we can meet every 25th of each month for a week, I will be all yours for a week, that is more than we get now"

"Hannah, I cannot do this over the phone, we need to discuss this in person, I will be home tomorrow morning"

"Seeley, I can't I will be home on the weekend, we will talk then but please call the travel agency in the morning, you need to reconfirm the reservations otherwise we lose the booking altogether since we haven't paid the full payment yet"

"Well good thing since I don't think we should go on this honeymoon anymore" he said defeated

"What are you saying?"

"I don't know what I am saying Hannah, but I think we need to talk, get our priorities right"

"Are you breaking up with me Seeley?" she asked

"No Hannah I am not, I am merely saying that we need to talk, I will see you this weekend please do not make plans to go out of town" he ended the conversation before she could add anything else.


	10. Chapter 10

"Bones, What are you doing, you shouldn't be up on your feet, here let me help" he took two steps and was in front of her by the small table topped with the food they have ordered for dinner. He took her hand and helped her to sit on the bed and brought the foot stool and placed her foot on it without thinking. The intimacy of his action was not lost on her, she thought if Tye was here, would he care that much, of course he would, and she had the proof of it. But Tye showed his affection differently, Tye would make sure that the help at their house were 24/7 at her service, he would call them every hour to make sure that she was comfortable. Whenever Tye sensed any discomfort on Brennan's part he always found someone to run her errands for her, or do her chores, but he never actually offered to do them himself. He had the means, and opportunities and monetary wealth to overcome life obstacles.

"Here you go Bones, the best Pasta a la Rabbit for you" he teased her, as he always did when she chose the vegetarian menu.

"Thanks Booth, but I believe there is no furry animal in my salad, it took you a while to change your clothes and get the movie" she asked hesitantly

"Yeah, I checked my phone, there were few calls I needed to make" he answered

"are you alright, you look troubled, is it because of what happened before" she had decided while she was alone that they have to start to be open and honest with each other, and she found her perfect opening now, they were seated next to each other, both their hands are busy holding their food, and there is a plan to watch a movie together if the conversation got awkward.

"No, nothing like this, Hannah, she called and it kind of didn't go well"

"I am sorry Booth, I am sure, you staying here in New York longer than expected is putting strain on her, you should go back tomorrow"

"No Bones, it is nothing like that, Hannah …let's eat now, I am just agitated a little, we'll talk later please"

"Ok, sure, so did Parker text you again?"

He started telling her about parker's text messages and few more amusing stories of Parker.

The food was out now, both friends seated on the bed, the laptop between them, movie in the DVD slot, ready to start, Booth flicked the master light in the room and showered the place with darkness before the light from the screen brightened as the movie started playing.

The movie was silly, and was very poorly done, they laughed together at the ridiculousness of the whole situation, it was too boring that they could not even stop watching, wanting to know if it will ever get better, as the titles started rolling both friends looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"This is crazy Booth, such a waste of time"

"No Bones, it was worth every minute, watching you laugh like this, being with you, it was definitely worth every minute of the 120"

Booth closed the laptop, and moved it away to the nightstand next to him, he flopped back of the bed on top of the covers, and the room was totally dark now, illuminated solely by the street light coming from the window. They both placed their heads on the pillows and looked into each other's eyes, not wanting to end the evening early and knowing well that soon they will have to admit that this is totally wrong.

She sighed first and placed the palm of her hand opened on the bed, he took the invitation and placed his on top of hers keeping the connection. He was first to break the silence.

"Bones, tell me about Tye, the wedding, the honeymoon"

Her heart broke for a moment, Booth acknowledging that she was engaged to a man, and wanting to hear about it, is like Booth accepting that they have both moved on, so what was all the kisses and the intimate moment they shared for the past two days, maybe Rebecca was right when she told her long time ago, that she fell again with Booth wanting to feel what had been there, the connection. Booth knew more about the matters of the heart, so she trusted him and if what they shared the past two days and for the next week will only help her have the closure she needed, so be it.

She took a long breath and started telling him about the 400 seated wedding receptions that will take place at the luxurious Grand Ball Room at the Fairmont Hotel on M street; she told him how the room has the crystal chandeliers and how everything is draped in Burgundy to match the decorations of the room. When he told her that he is surprised that she hasn't chosen blue since Blue was Tye favorite color – knowing that she had told him he liked blue roses – She explained that she did not care much and that Tye and Angela had agreed the room would look more posh and royal with the color they chose. He told her he had missed Angela and he is happy that he is not caught up with the crazed friend planning the wedding. Then she told him about the honeymoon, a one night at the One and Only Ratira beach at the Maldives before the Rania Experience. When he asked her what was that, she said in a deep voice imitating Tye "The _Rania Experience_, Maldives. One Island, One Yacht, One Million Possibilities" and then she chuckled. When she was done with all her touristic explanations, he dropped a question he could not help but ask

"Am I on the 400 guest list at your wedding Bones?"

"Am I on yours Booth?" she countered

Both questions were left unanswered for fear it will hurt them both, the not knowing in this case was better for both of them.

"I should go and let you rest Bones, you have to wake up early and be done with your writing before noon, I am taking you out to lunch tomorrow, then we will both go and get the wedding invitations from Luc in the afternoon, and then if you are up to it and your foot is better, we can go shopping"

"Shopping?"

"Yeah Bones, I need to buy something for Parker, I promised him a professional drawing set and brushes and what not, things I have no idea about and I need your help"

For a minute she panicked, she had thought she will have to go shopping for lingerie for his fiancée but when it was Parker all along on his mind she rested for a minute, and then she decided she would call Angela and gets her professional opinion on what to get for Parker, without mentioning Parker's name that is.

Brennan was distracted the whole morning, she was anxious to be done with her writing so she could meet Booth, but wasted a lot of time talking to Angela discussing aimless things before she could ask bring herself to ask Angela about the drawing materials. Angela laughed and told her that this would not be a good wedding gift for Tye, given that Tye could not draw a stick figure if his life depended on it. Brennan laughed with her and told her that it was not for Tye, and she was not the one buying the gift, it was just an acquaintance asking her for help. Angela then got to work, explaining everything from the raw material needed to the type of brushes if the person wanted to draw using chalk, coil, water or oil colors, the types on canvas needed for beginners. It was Angela's true love, so when she spoke of art she sounded very thorough but very warm and tender.

Tye called her as well in the morning, to check on her and to tell her that things have been busy at work and that he was flying to Austin/Texas and will come back by Sunday. The call was short, and to the point, she wondered if Tye also had an agenda of his calls to her, and minutes of his meetings with her, like he kept all his agendas and minutes of his business meetings. She shivered at the thought, and could not help feeling cold.

The knuckles of one FBI agent rapped at the door, and before he could place the Key card in the slot, she opened the door wearing the most beautiful smile.

"Hey Bones, how is the foot"

"Hi Booth, how was your morning?"

"good, and you?"

"The foot is good, but my morning was not very productive"

"Oh! no , you are not getting out of our plans" he stopped her before she said anything about cancelling on him

"Booth, I am not trying to, I was just stating a fact, I am actually looking forward to lunch and shopping with you"

"Great Bones, ready, let's go, there is a huge Steak with my name written all over it"

"That is absurd Booth"

"Come on Bones, I heard there are rabbits ready to attack your food"

They took a cab from the hotel, thirty minutes later Brennan turned to Booth with questioning eyes, he assured her they will reach their destination in no time. True to his word five minutes later the cab was brought to a halt, Booth paid the fare and took Brennan's hand and practically dragged her out of the car.

They took a small table at the café style restaurant and Bones was happy to be out of the hotel room after spending the last 40 hours practically in bed.

The waiter brought their menu and as soon as Brennan opened it she placed it down looking at Booth with confused looks.

"Booth, there are no steaks here"

"Of course there are Bones, what are you talking about, so what are you having? I suggest you since you don't eat meat, you get the portobello mushroom and organic brown rice topped with pico de gallo and sour cream, served with a side salad" he read from the menu.

"And I will have the steak sandwich with the caramelized onions and cheese on a roll with mayo" he closed the menu now and ignored her stare and asked her what would she like to drink.

"Booth, this is Seitan Steak, not a meat steak, this is a vegan restaurant"

"Yeah Bones, I know, I thought you would enjoy it, so Drinks?"

She declined his offer for wine, and decided to have sparkling water instead. The sun was up in the sky, the light coming through the tainted glass surrounding the beautiful tables scattered around the café is casting a magical atmosphere in the rather small room. They sat in silence enjoying their food, although Bones knew Booth would have preferred his original NY Steak, there was nothing on his face that showed discomfort or annoyance from eating the vegan sandwich.

They opted to skip desert and get ice cream later, she offered to pay for the meal, but he declined and told her it was his invitation.

As they walked into Colornot – The Art's boutique – she began giving him all the details she learned from Angela, forty minutes later and a big box was packed ready to be shipped back to DC for Parker, Brennan had insisted to chip in and buy few things for Parker as well, convincing Booth that she would like Parker to draw something for her.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in a lazy stroll across the city, they did a lot window shopping, which Booth introduced the concept of it to her. At first she was skeptical of the activity, and maybe teased him about it, telling him it looked like something girlfriends did. So he told her to pretend that she was his girlfriend.

She gasped, and unintentionally moved slightly away, until he placed his arm around her shoulder and told her since they are girlfriends she should call him Celine.

The tension was dissolved immediately, replaced by an amused look from Brennan, she moved her hand and wrapped it around his waist and walked the way to the Ice Cream parlor.

He knew they will have to face their own realities sooner rather than later, they will be visiting Luc in an hour, and receive what felt like their life sentence in Prison. He had ignored the pang in his heart the whole day, but the closer they got to the Bridal shop the tension between them was raising. They were growing apprehensive so he stopped her before taking the steps into the shop and looked at her, as if he was seeking something he did not know what it was, some kind of sign from God from her something to tell him not to walk in there, not to get the invitation and run off with her. But when he looked at her he only felt peace in her eyes, it was as if she is telling him that we go in, we go out and things will work themselves out.

_**A/N Stay tuned, Next chapter they are back in DC. Let me know what do you think so far.**_


	11. Chapter 11

_**Hi, I hope you will enjoy this next chapter, I know it lacks the fluff of the last 2 chapters, but this is an important milestone for this story.**_

It was dark, the street illuminated by small lamps on each side on the pavement, he was holding her hand throughout their walk, until they reached the steps of an old building that looked like a church, except she has seen this Church in DC, why there was a replica of it in new York, she looked at Booth with confused eyes, silently asking him what were they doing here, he halted his steps and turned to face her, looking into her eyes, he took her hand and placed it on his chest, instead of hearing the familiar heart beat she could only heard a hard knock. She lifted her hand shocked but the knocks did not stop, it was everywhere now.

"Bones, what are you doing, open up"

"What?" she was confused now, the sounds of the heavy knocks coming from Booth's chest were scaring her. She started moving away from him, readying herself to start running, until the knocks stopped and she felt him reach out to her hand again.

"Booth" she looked startled, afraid and confused

"Bones, it is ok, you were dreaming, are you alright?" she sat next to her on the bed, palming the strands of hair and tucking them behind her ears.

"Yeah, I am fine, what are you doing here so early?" she asked

"Bones, I have to go back to DC, Rebecca was in an accident"

"Is she alright Booth?"

"She is alive, but they won't give me all the details, I need to be there with her, and oh! God, Parker, I need to get Parker from Camp, I have to go Bones, I was able to get an early flight, I leave in an hour, will you be alright?"

"Yeah Booth, I am fine, don't worry about me"

As soon as he lifted himself from the bed, he felt the loss of the warmth of her hand, and could not help himself from turning to look at her one more time.

Her eyes were tearing up, it was like the whole universe is against them, so much for believing that fate could bring them back together. He knew he will not be able to leave if he turned to look at her one more time, but still could not bring himself to walk out the door, until he heard her call out to him

"Booth, let me know as soon as you know anything about Rebecca"

Her words enveloped his aching heart with warmth, she wanted to keep the connection, he will be talking to her again, even if only to update her of Rebecca's condition. He gathered the courage to walk out this time, after nodding in affirmation that he would call.

Rebecca was lying in the tiny bed at the hospital, covered in cuts and bruises; her long blond hair looked grayish from what Booth assumed was smoke and dirt; however she was awake and responsive.

"Seeley"

"Hey Beccs, How are you feeling"

"Like a million dollar Seeley" She gave him a weak smile

"Ah! So you are suing whoever did this to you for a million dollar I assume"

"too bad I cannot, he is dead"

"Oh, I am sorry Beccs, are you ok, what happened"

"I am not sure, it happened so fast, this guy was driving his car and he crashed his car head on to mine, the nurse told me that he had a stroke while driving and that is what cause the car to deviate from its original lane"

"I am glad you are ok" he finally took a seat next to the bed placed both his hands under his chin holding his head up.

"I am going to get Parker from Camp, I will call them and tell them what happened"

"No, Don't, he has been waiting for this opportunity the whole year, plus with my broken arm, it will be difficult for me to take of him, and he is so much like you, he will be all Booth" she teased

"What is that supposed to mean?"he pouted

"You know, all protective and annoying, thank you very much"

"No Rebecca, he needs to know, and you know how I feel about this, so you rest now, let the doctors and nurses take care of you, and I will go get Parker"

Booth was good man, he believed in family and responsibilities and stepping up when people who you cared about were hurt and needed your help, so he was adamant to teach Parker not to be selfish and accept his responsibilities to family at a very young age. He knew he had raised a good son and Parker would not hesitate to drop the camp to come and stay with his mother.

The drive to the camp site was short, given that Temperence Brennan occupied his thoughts throughout the journey, for the first time in a long time he let himself drift and let his mind carry him where his heart was.

"Dad, What are you doing here" Parker called to his father as soon as he entered the small office.

"Parker, listen to me, I need to take you back home"

"But Dad" Parker whined, but before he finished his sentence the stern look on his father's face meant business and no play, so he stood up straighter and just called in a defeated voice "Yes Sir"

Booth felt sorry for his son, Parker looked happy here, and it was killing him to cut his happiness short, so he thought against his morals and decided to leave it to his son to decide whether he wanted to come back or stay in camp.

So he brought parker to the small chair and sat across him telling him that his mom was in a car accident, she was hurt but she was ok. He also explained to him that she will be in the hospital for a while and maybe it is better for him to stay back in camp since his mom will not be able to take care of him while she is at home with a broken arm and hand.

Back in the car, Booth was elated, his could not contain his pride in his chest, Parker had jumped from the seat, told his dad that he will pack his things in ten minutes and also mentioned that he should give his mom company while she was healing at the hospital and that he will take care of her once she is home.

They drove back to the hospital by the time Booth stopped the car and took the key from the ignition his head was throbbing with pain from the continuous chatting of one young boy who could not stop talking about anything and everything from colors to animals to canvas and drawings, also mentioning that whatever little time he spent at camp he was grateful for it and had learnt a lot.

Booth left a message on Brennan's phone when she did not answer the call. He thought she would be busy with her publisher, after all she had mentioned that she will be meeting with her while in NewYork, by Friday he had not heard from Brennan, and Rebecca was healing well but she was not to be discharged until the next week. So Parker drove with his dad everyday to the hospital and returned back with Booth in the evening to prepare dinner and have some downtime together.

Booth and Parker were preparing breakfast when Hannah walked in on them, she smiled seeing Booth in nothing but his sweat pants and closed the distance between them and wrapped her arm around his neck.

"Ahem!" she heard a soft cough coming from the corner in the kitchen

"Uh, Parker, What are you doing here?" Although she tried to hide the annoyance in her voice, Booth was able to detect it, and could not but hold both her arms and unwrap himself from her.

Booth explained the situation for her, she asked few questions about Rebecca and when will she be released from the hospital and then walked the distance to their bedroom after telling Booth that she will take a quick shower and nap for a while.

Booth finished preparing the breakfast, and went to join his fiancée in their room, when he saw her fast asleep on their bed, he decided he would drop Parker at the hospital and come back for alone time with Hannah, maybe they could finish the conversation they started on the phone not so long ago.

As soon as he entered the room, she was starting to wake up.

"Seeley, come here, I missed you" she said in her best seductive voice.

"Hannah, we need to talk"

She sat in the bed, opened her eyes and nodded in understanding.

"So did you get them?" she asked referring to the wedding invitations

"Yes I did, Hannah listen, we need to talk about things, this thing with your job, you need to talk to me before you make these decision specially when it affects our honeymoon"

"It is only a day Seeley, I changed the plans by a day, it is not big a deal, and we are still going on your shark adventure as planned"

"Is this what is this all about, you don't like the plans, because we can go somewhere else, but you said you wanted me to plan it so I did, but if you are not happy with Hawaii, we can always go somewhere else" he was feeling guilty now, obviously he planned for their honeymoon without much consulting her, but that was only because she was always too busy and always told him to do whatever.

"No, Hawaii is fine, we don't have time to pick another place" she countered

"So, what's up with Parker, are you taking him back to camp" she asked nervously

"No, he will be staying with us until the wedding"

"But I thought Rebecca is coming home next week" she sent another question his way now, she was confused why would Parker be staying with them when his mother was just across the street.

"Rebecca will be discharged from the hospital, but she decided not to put too much burden on Parker, and wanted to stay with her parents for a while, until she is fully healed, she will be back before the wedding" He explained

"Won't Parker be disappointed that he won't be seeing his grandparents?"

"Hannah! Why are you doing this, is something wrong?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You, and Parker, if I did know better, I would say you don't want to see Parker at all"

When it took her more than ten seconds to reply he moved away from her and looked straight into her eyes

"Booth, No, it is just that I am nervous around kids…"she trailed but Booth stopped her, his anger started building up

"Cut the crap Hannah, Parker is not a kid anymore, he is a teenager, and he is my son, you want me, you get us both, it is a package deal" he defended now.

"Of course I want you Booth, it is just I am not sure how to relate to him, plus next week is going to be difficult for both of us"

"And why is that?"

"Well I am going to be very busy, and you need two to three days to recover from the procedure"

"What? What procedure" he asked

"Well, I was thinking, it is time for us to start having sex without you know condoms"

"Huh, but I thought you did not want kids, oh! Are you taking birth control pills?" he asked, they have discussed their intimate situation so many times before, and he all but begged Hannah to let him be with her without any protection, but she always refused, saying she does not trust pills, and they make her edgy and she could not risk getting pregnant.

"I have actually made an appointment for you at the clinic for a vasectomy, the recovery period should not take more than 3 days, you can be back on schedule in no time, and this way we don't have to worry while on our honeymoon"

"Stop right there Hannah, No and No and No"

"First, I cannot have a surgery, I've had an allergic reaction to anesthesia once and I was in a coma, and I don't want to repeat the experience, second of all, I am not letting anyone cut Agent Junior here, no way not happening, and third and most important of it all, I would like at some point in my life and I am not getting any younger to have another child, I have always wanted a big family, but knowing that you are not comfortable around kids, I thought you would at some point want to have a baby with me, from me" there he said it, what Hannah was asking him was unacceptable to him on so many levels, so when she mentioned it, he had to be honest with her and tell her the truth, that he dreamt of a young girl with blue eyes hugging him and telling him that she loved him, he longed to have this sweet girl he could call his own who would be her daddy's little girl where he would protect her and pamper her and spoil her.

"I cannot do this Seeley, this is too much, I am not backing down on this"

"Well I am not either Hannah, I am sorry but I cannot do this"

"Seeley, you know what this means?" she looked at him, hoping that he will back out once he saw how serious she was about her decision but when she met his eyes she knew this was a lost case, Seeley was not backing down on this, not waiting to be the one to be walked out on, she got up from the bed and stood in front of him holding his hand silently asking him to stand up with her.

Million thoughts ran through his mind at the moment, was Hannah finally deciding that he meant for her more than anything else, she closed the distance between them kissed him on the lip and hugged him tenderly

"I am leaving Seeley, I am sorry; I cannot be who you want me to be"

"I am sorry too"

_**A/N : So Hannah is out of the picture, but don't forget , Tye is still very much holding his place. **_


	12. Chapter 12

The house was empty not that Hannah filled the house much, she was rarely at home, and Booth was sitting now on the old couch in his living room, nursing the last of the chocolate milk from a carton, the drink will expire tomorrow, and he thought might as well drink it. Rebecca had decided to take Parker along with her to visit her grandparent, and Parker thought it would be better if was close to his mother while she was recovering. Booth seconded the decision, although Parker would have been a good distraction at this time, it was for the best. He needed time to adjust to yet another failure in his life. How could he get himself into this mess, for two years he has been living a big lie, he tried to be an honest man, do the right thing by everyone around him, he built a good home for his son, worked out all the issues with his ex, the mother of his kid, and committed to a relationship and was going to get married in less than two weeks, and here he is now, on the couch in the dim lit room, watching the muted television and not even turning to alcohol to forget the aching pain in his heart.

He got up from his seat, he was not one who littered or lived like a slob, his house although was not neat, it was always clean and fresh, before he reached the garbage can in his kitchen his toe hit the island in the kitchen and he cursed under his breath. The pain in his foot now made him forget even for a second the pain in his soul. He felt worthless, although he broke up with Hannah amicably, they simply fell out of love and drifted apart, they both had their own agendas and were not able to meet in the middle, he still felt that he lost the dream, the idea of finally having a home, a family. Rebecca and Parker were more a family to him than Hannah. His girlfriend always felt a stranger, the odd person, even a third wheel sometimes. With her things were hard, it was like he needed to work everyday to make this relationship work. If he had left it to Hannah, she would have gone long time ago, but he always worked his effort to bring her back to him. She did not want him, no one did. Rebecca Rejected him once, Bones did not even want to give them a chance, and now Hannah after actually giving him a chance, could not stand living with him, for more than the nights that she needed the connection. She never wanted to have a permanent link with him, a kid. What was he thinking, why would anyone want to link themselves to him anymore, he was not even the hero he was once when he had worked with the Jeffersonian team.

Thinking of the Jeffersonian team, his mind drifted to his partner, or who was once his partner, was she back in DC, she never returned his text message, did any of what happened in New York meant anything to her, maybe not. Just because he broke up with Hannah, does not mean that Bones and him can go to what they were once; and what were they?; work partner, did he want that back, God yes, he did, anything to be closer to her again, to talk to her, he would bear her talking about Tye for hours if it meant he would hear her voice again.

He huffed back on the couch, turned the sound on the TV on in attempt to distract himself. A surfing add on the TV caught his attention, he jumped from his seat and got his laptop and started typing and browsing frantically. The last two times he planned to go on holiday were cancelled because his girlfriend Tessa had broken up with him and the second time was when Jarred broke his heart. So here he was now, adamant not to be the symbol of insanity, he was not going to do the same thing over and over again and expect a different outcome, he was going for a different outcome. He had made up his mind, Rebecca, Tessa, Hannah to hell with all of them, this time he was going on his honeymoon, bride or no bride.

He closed the lid of his laptop two hours later, after changing all his hotel and activity booking to a single, but the good part was that now he afforded to leisure of going first class. He would pay the same amount of money he was supposed to for his honeymoon but he would spend it all on himself. This would have sounded selfish, if only he was not so angry with his life at this moment.

The wedding preparations were all done, what was left is the bachelorette party which Angela insisted on despite Brennan several declines. As a compromise both ladies decided a girl's night out just the two of them will suffice. Tye was having a guy's night in with Hodgins and couple of his other close board members, a night full of good scotch and Cuban Cigars.

Few cheers and couple of Vodka shots few hours into the night and both ladies were talking freely by the bar of a dance club. They laughed at the forgotten memory of the getting high once during a case, Angela and Brennan rarely spoke now of old cases, or anything that related to the past and specifically anything that had the slightest hint of Booth, but sitting now nursing their fourth drink that night after having had dinner, Brennan seemed more open to talk, it was like she needed to say goodbye for good for that part of her life and needed closure. And the best way to forget is to speak about it and let it go. They laughed hard, but ended up crying harder, until Angela decided that they should get home. Brennan spoke of a social ritual where a bride does not see her groom the night before the wedding, so she asked Angela if she could stay with her. Angela was of course elated.

They reached the Hodgins' past 2 am, Angela almost passed out on the couch, until she saw that look on her best friends face. That running face, an expression she last saw when her fried had decided to leave on a dig to the Maluku Islands, so she change her course and instead went straight to the kitchen, brewed some coffee and brought it back to Brennan and herself.

"Sweetie, are you alright, no cold feet I hope" Angela proded

"No, the temperature here is very adequate, plus it is still too early for the weather to be cold" she brought her coffee mug to her lips and took a testing sip.

When her friend raised an eyebrow at her, Brennan knew she could not avoid Angela by pretending of not understanding the expression thrown at her

"No Brennan, you don't get to do that, talk to me"

"Tye is a good man Angela, he is good to me" she emphasized

"That I know my dear friend, but are you happy?"

"Angela, I am getting married tomorrow, of course I am happy" she scolded

"I know Bren, but there is something you are not telling me, but I know better that to pressure you to talk, so I am going to let that go, so tell me, how was the meeting with your publisher, have you given them your latest book for printing"

Brennan sighed grateful that Angela did not pursue her line of enquiry, and began telling her about her latest book, she even told her how Tye loved it and thought it was different from anything she had written before.

Angela was surprised more like shocked, not for the reason that Tye liked the book, after all her friend was a best selling author and her books were sold out in the first week from being published, nor for the reason that Brennan shared her script with Tye prior to being published, because she knew even though Brennan never let anyone read her scripts besides her editor and publisher, she had learned that Brennan never done things by half and when she committed to Tye she was all in, and shared everything with him equally, so her astonishment was caused by the fact that Tye had actually read the book.

"Tye read the book, and your other books? When did that happen?"

Brennan shook her head violently and then explained that Tye usually made her tell him the plot and the main ideas, but never actually had the time to sit and read any of her books. He always told her that he needed to know what is in them so when people share their views in front of him, he wouldn't look like a gazelle caught in headlight ; of course Brennan would screw up yet another expression.

She remembered once she tried to read from her book to him, and he told her to close the book and tell him the story in her own words, and when she did close the book and refused to talk to him, he got confused, so she explained that the words in her book were her own words, and if he does not want to read or listen once she read it to him, he was not going to know anything about her books ever again.

He apologized profusely that night, until she forgave him and proceeded with her reading until she sensed that he was lost in his own thought she gently let the book fall and pretended to fall asleep.

Since then, she never offered to read or tell and he never asked, until he convinced one night while they were having dinner in a restaurant to tell him about the discussion with her publisher.

Booth once told her when she asked him where he would find the time to read her books. He said: "if you have time to write them, then I have time to read"

She never needed anyone, for a long time she was on her own, until Booth came along and taught her about the comfort of being cared for, the sweet taste of someone caring so much about you and actually showing it. Sitting on Angela's couch, she felt empty in her chest cavity, as if her heart was ripped out of her chest, which was a scientific impossibility unless she was dead. She was a living breathing feeling human so she blurted out the first sentence that came to her mind then

"I don't want to be dead"

"Huh" Angela said I confusion

"I don't want to be alone" she explained

"I know sweetie, you have Tye, me Hodgins, Tala adores her Aunt Benny" Angela teased, she knew Brennan would smile if she called her Benny, Tala had started calling Bren "Ben" since she was one, then somehow Ben became Benny after a while and the name stuck since then.

"No Angela, something is missing, and everything I do and Tye does, is not sufficient to fill this void and I tried, but I don't feel complete"

"Bren, you are not making any sense, go to sleep, tomorrow we will talk, the wedding is still a day away, we can do something in the afternoon, Hodgins is taking Tala the whole day tomorrow. So how about you rest as much as you can, we will have lunch by the pool and take the plunge" Angela finished her sentence with a yawn

"Yeah that would be acceptable, thanks Ange, I will see you tomorrow"

Brennan walked the corridor into the familiar guest room, she was not a stranger to the Hodgins household and she always preferred the guest room next to Tala's room.

Her sleep was filled with dreams, her running away from every murderer she and her partner ever arrested, but every time she got away from one another one caught up to her, although she was not touched by any of them she still felt exhausted from all the running she had to do, specially that she had to change course every time, because every single time at the end of the road Tye was waiting with open arms and she always chose to run away from the predator but never towards the safety of her fiancé. She knew in her dreams that it was more of running towards something, but that thing was never represented in her dream.

She woke up as she felt rain falling on her face, the cold drops on her nose startled her, she opened her eyes to see Tala standing next to the bed holding her juice safe cup and pouring droplets onto her face.

"Tala, Good morning my dear"

"Benny, Juicy sticky?" Tala grinned wide

"Yeah, the juice is sticky, and now I am going to carry you and bring you close to my face, so yours will be stuck on mine" she spoke in mock horror to the child

Tala squealed as loud as Angela would and tried to wiggle out of the ticklish raspberries Brennan was peppering on her face.

The giggles alerted and Angela, she walked into her friend's room apologizing for Tala waking her up

"It is Ok Angela, I am truly happy that she is here" she had stopped the tickles now and was hugging the girl and drawing circles around her back.

"So ready for some fun with daddy Tala"

"Yes" Tala jumped out of Brennan's hand running through the door to her father, Tala loved her mother and Brennan but the connection she had with Hodgins was something no one could deny. The girl would drop anything if she heard of her father's name, he was her hero and no one could compare to him, Hodgins on the other hand drove Angela crazy with the way he treated the girl, he adored yes, he was wrapped around her little finger yes, but he deliberately acted out an air of indifference to her. Hodgins was not mean, he just loved the way she looked when he ignored his girl, she would stand in his face and demand attention, she was adorable and all Angela, persistent to a fault.

The sun carried both women to the pool, they sat in the whirlpool enjoying the feeling of the jets on their skin. The conversation they had the night before was kept locked until Brennan turned and placed both hands on the marble and rested her head on her arms.

"Angela, I am sorry"

"What are you sorry about?"

"Tye is your friend" a simple sentence explained what is yet to come

"Brennan! Look at me, you are my friend and that is all that matter, you understand me"

"Yet I am sorry for hurting everyone, but I cannot do this, I am going to go home Angela, I need to speak with Tye"

Angela nodded, nothing more needed to be spoken, she knew what this talk was going to lead to, her friend was going to break up her engagement.


	13. Chapter 13

What are ten days in the larger scheme of things, if you want to know the value of a year ask Brennan about her time in Maluku, and if you want to know about the value of days, ask this man who is just walking out of the airport. His backpack is hanging from his shoulder, his passport still in his hand, he moved to tuck it in the back of his jeans. His light shirt is untucked, showing the sun kissed tan on the small of his back. He spent ten days on the beach, swimming with dolphins and sharks, surfing and he even tried the hula dance lessons, although he would never admit it to anyone. He partied, danced and had a lot of fun but kept his interaction with people to the minimum. When the ladies asked him to dance at the hotel's club, he accepted but he never danced twice with the same one. He did not offer to buy dinner or a drink, and when he was propositioned not too subtly by one very beautiful young girl, who could be no more than half his age, he accepted to escort to the Hotel's end of summer beach party but declined her offer to join her in her room. He was just beginning to feel free from all the baggage in his life and he did not need lust to mess with his plans. Seeley Booth was on a mission. He finally saw things clearly, he needs to adapt. He would come back to DC, live at his house, ask Parker to move in with him permanently, he was sure Rebecca would not disagree now, he even thought of asking Rebecca to have another child with him, he was a man on a mission, a man who wanted a family, and as skewed this might sound, if a wife was out of the question for him, at least he could have his son and a daughter maybe under the same roof and call it his family.

There was not a molecule of sadness left in this man, not that he lead a happy life, but he had decided that he had enough brooding for a life time, from now on, in his next 35 years he would build a new life for himself, he won't just go for a different outcome, he will live differently. Ten days on the beach, changed Seeley Booth and he was starting to love the change.

He took a cab from the airport to his house, opened the door and was thankful that Rebecca was thoughtful to send for someone to air the place and change his bed sheets. He went straight to the laundry room opened the top of the washing machine and dumped the content of his backpack in. no more slacking on his house work, he will take care of himself, his son and his life, this is the new him. He thought he would take off the clothes he was wearing and wash them as well, as much as he enjoyed the hotel in Hawaii, he always loved to come home to his own en-suite bathroom and take a shower. He dismissed the need to wrap himself in a towel and walked the corridor intending to go straight to his room.

"Whoaa Dad!, What are you doing walking naked at home"

"Seeley"

"Umm, Rebecca, what are doing here?" Booth was stuttering now, embarrassed, however he opened the linen closet and took out a fluffy dark blue towel and wrapped it around his waist.

"Well Seeley, it is good to see you, all tanned, we got back couple of days ago and I was just helping Parker with moving few things from his room" Rebecca explained.

"Moving, moving what?" He panicked, he wanted his son to permanently move in with him and now she was there helping him move out what ever little he had here

"Relax Seeley, most of what Parker had here he is not using, the clothes don't fit him anymore and he says he is too old for toys so he wanted to take it all and give it to charity, we were just gathering things"

He sighed in understanding, he thought of telling Rebecca about his decision, but he decided against it, he should be dressed first of all in something more than a towel when discussing the moving of his son, or maybe the baby idea, although if she agrees to the baby, it would be good that he is already out of his clothes. He smirked.

"Becca, I need to go take that shower, will you guys be here when I am done, and maybe we could grab dinner?"

"Actually Dad, I am going to see Avan this afternoon, we are going to school game and then we are having a sleepover at her house, her dad is having a camping thing in their backyard for 6 of us and mom said I could go, I really would like to sit with you but we could catch up tomorrow, huh Dad?"

"Sure parker" he ruffled his son's hair before he moved to his room. As soon as closed the door he snapped back open and called for Rebecca

"He Becs, do you think you can have dinner with me, I have something to talk to you about"

"Sure Seeley, I will see you later in the evening, I will get the food, you could use a home cooked meal"

Rebecca drove Parker to the game, after saying hello to Avan's parents, and making sure that they were ok with the sleeping arrangements, she drove back home to make dinner. She was not the greatest cook, but Parker as well as her past boyfriends always complimented her on her Sheppard's pie with the extra meat she added this time for her neighbor. She also tossed some salad in a bowl, carried both and knocked on his door by seven.

"Hey, come on in" He greeted her

"Thanks, here I made some salad and the meat pie you like, you look good, you solo honeymoon did wonders to you"

He placed the food on the table and went to get their drinks. "Yeah, it was fun, I haven't done this for as long as I can remember, but I don't want to talk about that, let us eat, I have something to discuss with you after dinner"

Their conversation at the table ranged from Parker's adventures with his grandparents, to her healing process, she was good now, her ribs healed perfectly and her arm although hurt sometime, it was getting better and will be better in no time. They cleaned up the dishes and the air of domesticity was not lost on both of them.

"So do tell? What is it you want to talk about, met someone in Hawaii, oh! don't tell me, you are professionally taking up Hula Dance?" she teased

He laughed "No way Rebecca, this is serious"

"Ok, go ahead"

"I have done a lot of thinking while I was away, and everything that happened to me in the last several years, well not just the last several years, but all my life, and I want things to be different, I am hoping to ask you if Parker could permanently move in with me, I want to concentrate on my family now, and Parker and you of course are the only family I have and you know I live close by, so you can come and see him anytime, he would go and see you anytime he wants, he is all grown up now, but it would be great to have him here every night" he held his breath waiting for her answer.

"Sure" she said

"Come on Rebecca, I thought we are over the mean phase…. What did you say yes ?"

"Yes"

"But why?" he was surprised

"Well, Parker discussed this with me while we were away, and he said he really would like to have his own what was the word he used yeah (Atelier)"

"What?" he asked confused now

"something to do with his own space to use as a studio, where he could put his canvas and draw, he is really good Seeley, and when I told him to set it up at your place, he said that his room at my place had better natural light and he is comfortable doing his work at my place, but he hinted that his room is too crowded with the canvas and the bed, so we agreed to move his bed here, because you still have his race car bed which he outgrown and this is what we did the last couple of days" she finished

"What? You mean Parker already moved in?" he could not contain his smile

"No, of course not, I would not do that without discussing with you, we merely moved few things here, so he could stay here more often, and we decided since he is away this weekend I could talk the details with you"

"Thanks Rebecca, that means a lot to me, now that we have this sorted it out, I have something else to discuss with you, but this require you to hear me out till the end"

He went about explaining to her about his need to grow his family, and how he abandoned the idea of a wife and he would like to have another child, and how happy and thrilled Parker would be to have a brother and a sister, he also explained that now they have a good rapport and they understand each other so it would be logical for them to have another child with someone you are close to. He also told her that they could do this the natural or the clinical way, whichever made her more comfortable. He used all that he learned from the squints over the years to logic his way to her, but still she declined. She held his hand hugged him, even kissed him softly on the lips and told him that he deserved true happiness and that he will find it someday, having another child is not the answer. However she also told him that in one year if he still felt the same, and there was nothing changed in her life, she would revisit this proposal, until then she asked him to give his life with Parker a chance, all in all to give simple life with no complication a chance.

He was content at the end of the evening, he was even grateful for Rebecca, although she rejected to have a child with him, he was not sore, and had no doubt that she was not rejecting him, but she was being his true friend, wanting him to live a little.


	14. Chapter 14

_**A/N: This chapter is all about Booth and Parker, to give you a glimpse of how Booth's is life is now after Hannah and all the Drama. I am sorry to disappoint you but Brennan is not ready to appear yet, but she will I promise in the next Chapter.**_

_**I also have to warn you there is a small cliffhanger at the end of this chapter. Please let me know if you are still reading the story and enjoying it as much as I do **_____

Soon enough Christmas was around the corner, the decorative lights sparkling all around Booth's household, Parker had helped his dad to put up the tree early this season, and they even had an early Christmas Party because Rebecca wanted to spend some vacation time in Vermont. Her relationship with her latest boyfriend seemed to be progressing fast, she even introduced him formally to Booth and surprisingly Boot approved of him. Maybe the fact that Parker was at home with him all the time, helped to tame his insecurities and fear that someone would take his place in his son's life. James was a good man, with a good paying job, after all the head of Risk in an international bank with 5000 offices around the world was not something to take lightly. He had met Rebecca because they needed a consult with a court case the bank had raised, and the bank's legal advisor introduced him to Rebecca who worked in the law firm they were to appoint for the case. They hit it off immediately. And now two month later James wanted to introduce Rebecca to his family who took yearly trips to Vermont to spend Christmas.

Rebecca agreed to the compromise, they would have an early Christmas party with Booth, and then she can leave with James alone and let Parker spend the rest of the holidays with his dad. And Booth was ecstatic, He had dreaded the idea of being alone during his long ten days leave, he was to get back to work only on the 3rd of January right when Parker got back to school. He made plans for the holidays, and although his arrangements needed little bit of change since he had initially included Rebecca with them, he was not in a bit distressed with the change.

"Parker! Are you ready?" Booth opened the door for Rebecca's house, Rebecca had left that morning, and Parker had spent the whole morning in his, what he called now, his studio painting.

"Yeah Dad, just a second, I will be down in a minute" he immediately put down the brush and covered his painting afraid his dad might come and see it. It was meant to be his dad's Christmas gift, he had told him once that he wanted to do a portrait of him, and the painting was almost ready to be presented on Christmas day.

"Parker! Do we need to go back to the house for a change of clothes, or do you have something to wear here?"

"No, I am good dad, let's go" Parker rushed down the stairs, took his coat from his father and buttoned it to prevent the cold air from hitting his chest.

They walked down the street to the parked SUV and drove to the Ice rink. The ice had started to form on the edges, and Booth hated to drive in this weather especially with his son buckled up next to him, too many accidents happened during winter, even if he was careful enough he could not guarantee the other drivers.

They reached their destination safely, sat down on the bench to get their skates on, when parker patted his father's shoulder and pointed with his eyes to a brunette skating in front of them.

"Huh?" Booth asked confused

"She is good, isn't she?" Parker asked

"Yeah, but that was figure skating, we don't do that, we Booth men" Booth pointed to his chest

"Oh GOD! You are not thinking of quitting hockey to figure skate , are you?"Booth asked petrified

"No way dad, I love hockey, I meant she skates well, she looks good, maybe you should go and talk to her" Parker explained

"No Parker, that ship has sailed son, and since when you try and hook me up with the ladies?"

"Well I just thought you broke up with Hannah because of me, and you are all alone and sad …"Parker trailed before Booth stopping and holding out his hands placing them on his son's shoulders

"Listen to me Parker, and listen good, no one and I mean no one is more important than you, plus Hannah and I had nothing to do with you, it was just not meant to be, she was not the one, you needn't to feel guilty ok, on the other hand I am happier now than I have ever been with Hannah, do you understand?"

Parker nodded, he wanted to ask him if he is happier now than he had ever been, but he knew the answer would be no, because his dad was always happiest when he was a field agent working with the squints, catching bad guys with Dr Bones. And then he thought of her, whatever happened to Dr Bones. He boxed that thought for later, he would not dare ask his dad for fear of hurting him, so he thought Dr Bones was famous enough he sure would find something about her on the internet. Not about her work at the museum per se, but maybe about her latest books, she was after all a best selling author.

They spent the rest of the afternoon showing off their moves on ice, and if Booth was not competitive enough Parker was bloodthirsty. All in all they had a good time, and by the time they got to the diner to have some food in their empty stomach both of them were complaining from the ache in their knees and back, but refused to admit it.

"So Parker, I was thinking, we could visit Pops tomorrow, lay out some flowers, say few prayers and then I will drop you off at Avan's place for your Art Museum thing" Booth laid out the plan for the next day, Pops had died the year before and although Booth missed him very much, he was glad that he got to spend the last few days with him, saying goodbye and having closure. Hank had gotten sick and died peacefully in his bed.

"Aha! You haven't bought my Christmas gift yet, and you want to get rid of me so you can go and get it?" Parker teased his dad.

_When did Parker grow up so much, when did he start teasing me and what was this about hooking me up with women._ Booth thought to himself. Parker was not a kid anymore, he had a girlfriend now, he spoke of love and affection and treating girls right, he even confided his dad about his first kiss with Avan. Although it was a chaste peck on the corner of her lips, he still mooned over it for a whole day and his lips were if possible tingly for a week after that kiss. He so much told his dad and asked him if it was okay to want to do that again. Booth was shocked that evening, he even asked Parker to get ready for bed and he would come later to talk to him in his room. He needed sometime to gather up the courage to talk openly and honestly to his son. Yes of course they had the talk about the birds and the bees early on, sooner than Booth had wanted to, and that was because Parker had caught Rebecca once with her boyfriend when he accidently walked in on them. Booth did not blame Rebecca then, because Parker was supposed to be with him, but he was late in getting home and Parker did not want to spend the time alone with Hannah so he went into his home to find his mom with her boyfriend in a compromising position up on the wall. Booth was horrified when he found out, but he was eased to know that Rebecca and her boyfriend were in a hurry they kept half their clothes on. But he still blamed Hannah, for not being able to entertain his son for at least half an hour till he got back.

"I did not buy you anything, after all those painting canvas and brushes cost a fortune, think of it as your gift" Booth teased back

"Ouch, that hurt dad, maybe I should write a letter to Santa like I used to, although Santa never got me the entire list" Parker winked and gave his dad an imitate of the original Booth Charm smile

"Wipe that smile of your face young man, your lists were never ending there was no way Santa could get you everything you have written"

"I know, I figured it out soon enough, and that is why the lists got longer, but I also noticed you always got me the third choice on my list, so I always put what I wanted the most in the third row" Parker laughed at the look on his Booth's face. Parker had known the truth about Santa for a long while now, it was nice to play his dad.

Booth enjoyed his relationship with his son, the way parker talked now reminded him of Rebecca when he first met her. Rebecca was a mix of Bones and Angela, fiery bright and witty, not as smart as Bones but in her own way Parker was like Rebecca Sharp tongued. So when Booth longed to bicker and banter with someone, it was always safe to sit with his son and have a match at it because at the end they both loved each other unconditionally and they both knew it.

Booth dropped his son and accepted the invitation of Avan's Parent to join them for coffee, he joined his son as they walked into the warm living room, Avan was courteous and took the coats and hang them in the wall closet by the door. Booth could not help but smile at his son's interaction with the young lady, she was beautiful just like her mother who stood with two steaming cups of coffee in her hand and handed one to Booth. Avan's father was a large man, few inches taller than Booth and had dark hair and black piercing eyes, but his smile was contagious, nothing was worrisome about this man, Booth thought. Booth was one man who relied on his gut, and his instinct rarely betrayed him, as they sat down, Mr Hays spoke of his work and how he had met the love of his life and married Avan's mother. They spoke of families and Booth was surprised to know that Avan was not an only child but had twin brothers Samy and Ray who were at college and visited during Christmas. Samy and Ray were his kids from a previous relationship.

Leaving Parker with the family, Booth got into his SUV, his heart swelled with pride as he watched his son opening the door for the young girl helping her get in into her father's car on their way to the art museum. He felt that at least with all the failed relationship he had, he had managed to do one thing right, raise his son to the best of his ability. Something though bothered Booth, it was not the family but rather the envious feeling that crept into his heart, he wanted that, the family, the wife the warm carpeted house with decorations and filled with laughter, siblings for his son, a daughter. Rebecca had refused his suggestion, although she had told him they would revisit this offer in a year, he knew now with James that he had no chance. Rebecca seemed very serious with him, and he would not be surprised though James and Becs have been together for two month only that they would be back if not engaged at least committed to living together. What ! he thought to himself, if Rebecca would decide to move in with James, would she take Parker with her, or would she go across town to live with James, he hated the idea, he became very dependent on her now, she was his neighbor, he liked having her there, on a bad day when he needed to vent she was always there listening, though she never gave him a solution or made the loneliness go away but she was good at distracting him from his pain, she would tease him and compete with him at who had a crappier day, and he would feel better then.

He shook his head, not wanting to think about it, it was one day before Christmas Eve and he was going to go to the Mall and get the Christmas gift for Parker. He was buying an iPad for Parker this Christmas, he took a short cut and parked his car next to the main gate and got out whistling a jolly tune that got stuck in his brain during the morning while he listened to the radio.

He walked into the HiTech shop and made the beeline to the counter of apple, all sorts of gadgets were put on display from iPhones 4th generations to iPods but none of the iPads that his son had been begging to have. He roamed the place in search for one of the shop attendants but found no one around, people were slowly gathering into a corner of the shop coming to stand around a huge TV screen. Booth made the walk towards the gathering crowd, after all he was a man who loved big screens TVs. Before the idea of buying a big screen TV overwhelmed him, the scenes on the screen caught his eyes.

A reporter standing at the door of a building that looked like DC General hospital, the sound of the TV was on mute so he could not know what was the fuss about, in the corner of the screen, they showed a car on a side of the street appeared to have been in a bad accident and now firemen were trying to put off the flames coming from the car. The headlines emerged at the bottom of the screen

**/The millionaire Tye Brand was brought to the hospital after a near fatal car accident, The doctors of DC General reported that Mr Brand is well and recovering, inside resources recounted the person in the passenger seat to be dead at the scene. It is assumed to be Mr Brand's significant other however no positive identifications were given at this hour/**

Booth's heart sank and he gasped for breath, the only thing he could do was call out "Bones".


	15. Chapter 15

Sorry about the cliffhanger yesterday and thank you all for the reviews keep them coming.  
I struggled writing this chapter, and I am sorry it is shorter than my usual ones, but it is not the size that matter it is how you use it, so this chapter might not answer all your questions, but it sure will explain some things.  
The next chapter is almost ready and I aim to post it before the next episode of Bones.

See you on the other side :) Enjoy.

Booth's heart sank and he gasped for breath, the only thing he could do was call out "Bones".

Booth froze, in his mind he saw himself moving fast, jumping into his SUV and without buckling up speeding through the busy DC street all the way to the hospital, but he stood his ground, what was he supposed to go and do, find out that not only he lost the love of his life to a man that maybe he could have fought but was too coward to do so, now he lost her to death, to God, how would he defy that, he was helpless and he lost not only the several battles but the war itself. As the people around him scurried each to their own business going to their holiday shopping, he was still staring at the screen, not seeing what played there anymore, but looked beyond the huge TV onto another world. What good would it be if he went now, searching for the soul that was entwined with him for as long as he could remember "Oh! Bones" What am I to do? He asked himself. He forced his limbs to move forward, left the shop in search for the warmth of his car out there in the cold. He sat behind the wheel his head resting on the palm of his hands pressing to the steering wheel. "God, what am I to do, would I go there, what good would that be, they won't let me see her, I am no body, and if they happen to let me see her, would I be able to touch her face, hold her hand? And if I did, would she open her eyes, would she smile, and if she did, would she talk to me, tell me that I left her before and now she was leaving me for good. What good would it be for me to go, pay condolences to a man who never loved her half as much I did, wipe his tears and tell him to move on like I did , there is no moving on from Bones , Oh God Bones, tell me what to do? His thoughts were materializing into words coming out of his lips mumbled with sobs, he took a deep breath fired the engine and drove like a maniac hoping if he got into a car accident at least an ambulance will take him faster to his destination.

The lifeless corridors of the hospital led him to the nurse's station at the ER, there seem to be a huge crowd, after all it was winter, the icy road helped veil the city with pain and death during the season. He made it to the counter and tapped on the wood seeking attention from one of the male nurses standing there.

"Temperence Brennan" Booth called to the man standing in front of him, not being able to voice his ultimate fear.

"Excuse me ?" not understanding the man in front of him the nurse probed again, he was used to watching people in panic calling out their loved ones names in attempt to know where they were and what was their condition.

Booth shook his head, clearing his throat and spoke again "Tye Brand accident, they said Tem…." Before Booth could finish his sentence the nurse cut him off.

"I am sorry sir, but no reporters, it was bad enough the news leaked out of the hospital, you were advised to stay in the media room and one of the doctors will come and talk to you, as soon as we get consent from the family, so please, the media room is this way, you can wait with the others" The nurse finished ushering Booth down the hall.

Few steps were taken before Booth came to his senses again, he was not a reporter, why was he being lead to the media room.

"No wait, I am not a reporter, listen, I am …." What was he supposed to say, I am a friend, family, he was no friend or family to Tye, in fact he had never met Tye

"Listen, Please, I want to know about the passenger in the car, what happened to her?" Booth asked

Michael the male nurse always hated to give bad news, and he hoped his face would not show anything, because they were not to say anything about the identity of the person with the millionaire Tye Brand.

When Booth sensed reluctance from the man standing in green scrubs in front of him, he decided he could use his last ammunition maybe it would work.

"See, I am FBI, and we need to investigate the accident, so would you tell me what happened to Mr Tye's wife?" his voice was more stern now.

"I am sorry sir, I am not at liberty to give details, the doctor will be out soon to talk to the family, they are in the waiting room on the second floor, you can go there, but I don't believe the passenger was married, she did not have a wedding band, although the diamond on her finger was the biggest I have ever seen"

Booth left the ER and ran up the stairs to the second floor, She was not married yet, he thought to himself, but why? The nurse told him she was still wearing that big ring that she hated so much. He reached the waiting room, designed for families to wait for news on their loved ones, usually they brought the families of the high net worth people here, in the privacy of the room, away from the prying eyes of the press.

He slipped into the empty room, expecting to see the family of Tye Brand there but the room was quiet. Booth slipped into one of the couches, only to remove himself from his seat as soon as he noticed the door on the left with a WC sign on it. He thought he would wash his face get his best game face, if he was going to convince doctors to let him see the love of his life even if she was laying cold and dead on a bed he was going to use his FBI status, and act all business.

He knocked on the door of the bathroom before he turned the handle to open the door when he received no response. His movement was halted when he bumped into someone coming out of the bathroom.

"Oh , Sorry, Excuse me !"

"Booth, What are you doing here?"

"Bones! Oh God Bones, you are alive, Oh God Bones" He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly to his chest, placing his nose in her hair taking in her scent, she was alive in his arm albeit not his, but alive nonetheless.

"Booth, what is wrong, are you alright, what are you doing here, is Parker ok? I assume Rebecca was out of the hospital by now?" she asked, but he did not answer, he took a step back just to look at her to make sure that she was not hurt.

"Bones, they said on the news that you died at the scene, Oh God you are alive, thank you God thank you" he raised his head in prayer

" Booth you are not making any sense, go wash your face and let's sit and you can tell me why would you think that I was dead"

Booth sat next to Brennan on the ugly mustard colored sofa; he was not sure how to react to her closeness, would he hug her again.

"Bones, they said Tye's wife died at the scene" he flinched when he called her Tye's wife, a tear slipped down his cheek and he was not fast enough or discreet enough in wiping it before her hand cupped his check and spoke softly to him.

"She is alive Booth, and they have not gotten married yet, his fiancée" she corrected

"I am glad Bones" he was not sure he was glad that she was alive or happy that she was not yet married.

"Do you know her Booth?" Brennan asked

"What do you mean Bones? Who?" asked Booth confused

"Reine, Tye's fiancée, do you know her?"

_**PS. Thanks for all of you fine people out there for trusting me to drive this crazy bus of Booth and Brennan's journey.**_

_**A/N: This chapter was dedicated to Gally619 for saying the secret word in her review**_

_**Gally619**__**  
**__**2011-02-05 . chapter 13**_

_**I need more. Whats going on with Bones! When will they **__**bump**__** into each other again. Where is this going? So many questions!**_


	16. Chapter 16

So today is Bones Day, I cannot wait to see this week's episode.  
Here is my next Chapter, I hope you will like it.  
Keep the reviews coming :)

"Do you know her Booth?" Brennan asked

"What do you mean Bones? Who?" asked Booth confused

"Reine, Tye's fiancée, do you know her?"

Before Booth could reply they were interrupted by Angela and Hodgins entering the room holding a the two year old toddler.

"Sweetie, we got here as soon as we heard, did the doctor give any update" Angela ran needing to make a connection with her friend. Although Tye and Brennan had broken up their engagement, there was no resentment from both parties, Tye and Brennan stayed in touch, even after Tye got re acquainted with his ex-girlfriend and proposed to her too soon after Brennan had moved out. Tye had met Reine back in college and they dated casually then, but when they met again when Tye bought a new company, Reine was the chief operating officer and they hit it off pretty fast. Hodgins had been concerned for his friend, although initially he though Reine to be the rebound girl for Tye, their relationship progressed and no one had been able to deny the connection. They were both business oriented lived and loved the same things.

"Hey ! look who's here, Booth, long time no see man" Hodgins shook Booth's hand with his left as his right hand was occupied holding his baby girl who clung to her father's neck tightly.

"Hey Tara, now don't be rude, and say hi to Agent Booth" Hodgins nudged Tara slightly encouraging her to be sociable.

"That would be Director to you Hodgins" Booth corrected.

"Wow Booth, come here, I am going to hug you now, congratulations, last I heard you were heading the Major Crime Investigation department, when did you take over the director role?" Angela asked, while she brought both arms around Booth when Brennan stood with her eyes connected to Booth, wide in surprise.

"Well actually I will take over right after new year" Booth explained.

Hodgins was the first to move toward the chairs to place his little princess on one of the seats in the corner. He needed to go find a doctor to enquire about the status of their friend.

"Angela, watch Tara will you, I am just going to find an update on Tye" before Hodgins could move towards the door, Tara was down running and squealing until she clung to her father's leg preventing him from leaving the room.

Booth watched the scene in amusement, Tara sure squeals like Angela, he thought to himself, Brennan stepped up and took the girl's hand and lead her back to the chair. Booth's eyebrow raised in surprise as Tara made no attempt to defy Brennan.

"Come here Booth, Tara is going to keep her Auntie Benny busy for a while, so director huh?"

"Angela your little girl is adorable; she sure likes the bug guy"

"Yeah, she is all me, and I am so into Hodgins" She grinned. Angela was desperate now, wanting to know if Booth had gotten married, last she heard that he was getting married in September, and now it was Christmas, what was he doing here anyway, so many questions but not the right time to sit and make nice, they had their friend to check on. But she could not hold her tongue and her next question left her lips without consent.

"So , how was Hawaii?" Angela asked, not wanting to ask about the wedding and his wife she thought this is as subtle as she can be.

"It was great, great vacation, no scratch that, actually it was the best vacation I have ever had" Booth explained

"Yeah! I am sure" Angela could not help but look at her friend with the corner of her eye, the look of hurt and disappointment on Brennan's face was obvious and could not have been left unnoticed.

Hodgins walked back into the room, with the Doctor trailing behind him.

They were in the waiting room with the doctor for ten minutes, while he explained the status of injuries for both Tye and his fiancée Reine, they were both alive and recovering well, aside from few broken bones and minor injuries both should be fine. The doctor assured the group and asked them if they wanted to see them.

Angela and Hodgins nodded while Brennan excused herself from Booth to go and see Tye and make sure he was alright. As soon as she opened the door to exit the waiting room she felt Booth's arm holding her elbow turning her to face him.

"Bones, I'll wait here"

Brennan nodded in understanding and walked out.

Half an hour later Booth was pacing the room back and forth, still no sign of Brennan, he needed to see her again, he has so much to talk to her about, he decided he needed to tell her that he was no longer with Hannah, and to explain why he hasn't called all this time, he also wanted to know what happened between her and her fiancé. Did she leave Tye for him, and if she did, why hasn't she made any contact with him. He had sent her a text after Rebecca's accident and another one when Rebecca was out of the hospital, he assumed if she wanted to talk to him she would at least reply to the messages. He thought of calling her number to check if everything was alright, and what was taking her so long, before he flipped his phone open it began to ring.

"Booth"

"Hey Booth!, this is Hays Avan's father"

"Oh Hi, is everything alright, is Parker Ok?" Booth was worried now

"Yeah, yeah, everything is fine, I was wondering if we could keep Parker for dinner, we will drop him off right after dinner to your house, Samy and Ray are here and wanted to take Avan and Parker for the new 3D movie after the Art museum, I know this is short notice and if you have plans with Parker this evening, then we can drop him before dinner right after the movie"Mr Hays finished

"Sure, no problem, I will be home by 7 so bring him anytime after that"

"Thanks Booth, the kids are going to be thrilled"

Booth placed the phone back in his pocket, when he felt someone watching his back; he turned to see Brennan standing by the door smiling.

"Hey Bones, is everything alright"

"Yeah Booth, they are both fine, they are resting now. I am …." She pointed at the corridor wanting to tell him that she should head back home.

They walked out of the door, and stood for a minute in the parking lot of the hospital, not sure how to part or where to go from here until Booth broke the silence and asked Brennan about where she had parked her car.

"I took a cab to the hospital; I hate to drive in this weather"

"Come on then, I will give you a ride"

The awkward silence between them was back, so the first thing Brennan thought of to break the tension was her favorite subject, the sole subject that never failed her, Parker. So she asked Booth about how Parker was doing with his painting and whether he was spending Christmas with him or did Rebecca take him this Christmas.

"So Bones, do you have time to have coffee with me? We are close to the diner, I could use a slice of apple pie and some hot chocolate and I'll tell you all about Parker, so what do you say, have coffee with me ?"

"Booth, but I thought you just said you wanted hot chocolate, and this sound more appealing to me at the moment, especially in this cold"

"Too literal Bones" he shook his head, nothing changed about her, she was still the most beautiful, smartest and most amazing woman he has ever seen.

They sat at the once known as their table, ordered two cups of steaming hot chocolate, a tart for her and a slice of apple pie fresh from the oven for him.

He began telling her about Parker, and how he was living with him permanently now, he explained that Parker decided he needed his own work place for his painting and he had turned his room at Rebecca's into a studio. The conversation flowed naturally between them however they consciously stayed away from talking about their cancelled weddings, and altered life plans.

When they left the diner, Booth remembered that he still hasn't gotten the iPad for his son, so he asked Bones to join him and she surprised him and herself by agreeing.

He wrapped Parker's gift and headed towards his home to place it under the tree, Brennan was still with him in the car, so when he killed the engine of his car in the driveway of his home she looked startled that he had brought her with him here. She thought it would be awkward to stay in the car, if Hannah was in the house she needed at least to say hi and explain the situation.

Booth walked with Brennan towards the door of his house and he used his key to open the door and let her in.

It was dark and Brennan assumed that maybe Hannah was not home, was she on an assignment? during Christmas?, she thought to herself.

Booth reached the tree, turned the decorative light on and placed the gift under the tree next to the several wrapped boxes in greens and blues and reds.

"So Bones, can I get you anything to drink?" Booth asked before heading to the kitchen and turned his coffee maker on.

"Coffee is fine Booth" she called at him, but stayed put in the living room, taking the scene around her. The house was warm, full of familiar things, Brennan had seen over the years at Booth's apartment, From his well worn couch to all the memorabilia decorating the shelves. There were several old pictures of Parker, photos she had seen hundreds of times before, and many that showed Parker all grown up. What caught her attention is the family photos of Parker everywhere with a blonde, but not the one she expected, none with Hannah, but rather with another Blonde none other than his mother, Booth's ex-Rebecca. What really surprised her was a photo placed above the fireplace of Booth and herself surrounded by the squint squad. Angela, Hodgins, cam, Zach, Sweets and even Caroline. She had the same photo with her, but she kept it in one of her books, the first edition of the book she had dedicated to Booth.

Booth walked back into the living room with two cups of coffee and a charm smile.

"So Bones, have a seat, welcome to Casa de Booth, I have been meaning to redecorate but I just been busy and could not get the enthusiasm to do so"

"It's nice Booth, comfortable, and warm actually"

"Yeah the thermostat broke this morning, they will come and fix it later, for now we have to bear the heat, stand up give me your coat, I will hang it for you, you will feel much better"

"Here, Thanks Booth" She handed him her coat and her gloves, but his breath caught we he got a glimpse of what she was wearing underneath. A tight black dress shirt fitted her top perfectly revealing the glory of the curves to his eyes.

"Booth, I don't see any pictures from your honeymoon?, it is customary for newlyweds to place mementoes and keepsakes from their first trip together as husband and wife"

"Well Bones, we did not actually go through with it" Booth explained

"What the honeymoon?, I am sorry Booth, I know you wanted to go to Hawaii for a long time"

"No Bones, we did not go through with it, not the honeymoon, the marriage"


	17. Chapter 17

_**One more Chapter, I am not sure about you guys but I enjoyed this week's episode of Bones, Booth broke my heart. **_

_**So enjoy this **___

"No Bones, we did not go through with it, not the honeymoon, the marriage"

"Oh! I am sorry, I know you've always wanted marriage and kids" Brennan awkwardly stated, she was afraid Booth would pick up on her true feelings, she was relieved, for one thing she felt uncomfortable being in his home Hannah was not there, but now that she knows that Hannah did not reside here she felt sense of comfort like she belonged. Although she had no memories in Booth's new home, still the old furniture and the trinkets around the place were very familiar to her.

Booth broke the silence then to ask her what happened between her and Tye, the last time he saw her she told him about the plans for the big expensive wedding, the Rania experience on a secluded Island in the Maldives for a honeymoon, but Brennan opted for the short version of the story, that it was not meant to be and that they had parted amicably, and soon enough Tye was engaged to his college sweetheart, of course she did not say sweetheart, but Booth could translate her clinical explanation to something resembling normal talk, he was never good at speaking squint and most of the time he required subtitles, but translating Bones talk had been his area of expertise.

"Well you see Bones, here is the thing Hannah did not want what I wanted" Booth finished his sentence with a sigh, it was difficult to talk about this, but they both silently agreed that it needs to be out in the open.

"But I believe she agreed to matrimony, she was ready"

"Yeah, Bones, she was ok with the wedding, the ceremony, the party, the honeymoon as a vacation break, but not marriage life, not what it stands for, not the commitment and sure not the kids, that includes Parker"

"I see, I am sorry Booth, again I don't know what to say, usually you are good with these talks and I would ask you or Angela, but…"

"It is ok Bones, it has been a while, what do you say, we enjoy the rest of the day, we can have dinner here that is if you would like to spend the day with me?" he felt the twist in his heart when he saw a hint of panick in her eyes.

"I am sorry Booth, but I have plans this afternoon, plus I need to go and change, I left in a hurry this morning when Hodgins called about Tye, but Dinner is fine, how about I meet you somewhere for Dinner?"

"yeah, the thing is, I have to be home by seven before Parker gets here, I understand you have plans, it is ok, let me grab my keys and I can drop you back to your place"

The disappointment was too much to bear for both of them, it was like the universe conspired against them and they both acknowledged their defeat.

"I can get a cap from here Booth" Brennan said

"It is ok Bones, I need to go out and get some more stuff for tomorrow's dinner, I am trying my grandmother's recipe for Turkey tomorrow for Parker, and I want to be prepared, would you like to join us for Christmas eve dinner?" and here he was again hoping that she would agree.

"I am…." Before she could continue with her sentence he cut her off waving his hand, he was trying to protect himself from the agony of hearing another apology.

"It is ok Bones, I just thought Parker would be thrilled to have you here, he asks about you, you know" Booth lied, well Parker had not mentioned Bones for a long time, although Rebecca had told him that he did mention that he would like to see her, but was too afraid his dad would say no.

"Booth, it is just I promised Angela and Hodgins to spend Christmas Eve with them and Tara"

When she mentioned Tara, she could not help the smile to appear on her lips, and he immediately understood, she really did love the girl and what he saw in the hospital was a real connection between her and the toddler.

"I would really like to see Parker, I am taking Tara to the Adventure Park in Fredrick county on Christmas day, Angela and Hodgins wanted to stay back to make sure Tye and Reine are recovering and did not want Tara to miss on having fun on Christmas, would you and Parker like to join me?" she hesitantly asked.

"Sure Bones, that would be nice, I have to check with Parker though, he is not a kid anymore, and I cannot drag him anywhere as I please" Booth said in mock sarcasm, he knew Parker will be happy to see Bones, but he was afraid that his son had outgrown the adventure parks.

They drove the city of DC, few minutes into the drive Booth noticed that he was not sure which way to go, where did Bones live now.

"So Bones, where to?"

"The Jefferson Hotel"

"Ah are you meeting someone there?" he asked cautiously

"No, I need to change these clothes; I am meeting the curator of a new exhibit at the Jeffersonian in the afternoon"

Booth was confused now; he shook his head until he realized what she meant.

Bones, you can't live in a hotel, Why are you living in a hotel?"

"It is just temporary, after I broke up with Tye, I stayed in the guest house for a while, but then it was inappropriate after Reine moved in, so I sold him the guest house back and I moved into the hotel, it was supposed to be for a week only until I find an apartment, but I just have been busy and did not have time to look"

"Bones! That is just not right, listen I have a guest room with an ensuite bathroom, you are welcome to it"

"I can't stay at your place Booth"

"Why the hell not, I've stayed in your guest room at your apartment several times before, this is the least I could do"

"You stayed at my place before because you refused to leave saying you needed to stay to protect me which was unnecessary"

"See now you can stay at mine and protect me" Booth said

"Protect you, the Director of the FBI?, I am happy for you Booth by the way"

"Thanks Bones, and you will never know what threats and dangers are out in the world are up against the new Director of the FBI, so what do you say Bones, you stay in your little room at the hotel tonight but come Christmas day, you check out and move into the Booth household"

"I have to pay you rent Booth"

"I own the house Bones, your money is no good with me, but you can buy your own grocery, because I am not buying you any of this disgusting Tofu you like too much"

"Fine, we share the electricity gas and water bill as well"

"No!, how much water and electricity are you planning to waste anyway?"

Before she could answer they were at her destination, he stopped the car and turned to look at her. She leaned forward and placed a kiss on his cheek before stepping out of the car and waving goodbye to him.

Booth place the palm of his hand touching the burning skin on his cheek where Brennan pressed her lips to his skin, his whole body was on fire now, the memory of the burning kisses they shared in the room at the library hotel were back at full force. Those kisses kept him awake during his lonely nights the last couple of months.

Mr Hayes called Booth at Eight thirty explaining that they are running late, but will be there dropping Parker before nine. It was the holiday season, and Booth was in a too good mood to be upset or angry at the man who was nothing but decent and courteous towards his son and himself. He closed the phone and went to have a look at the deserted guest room, nobody had used this room except him on nights when his thoughts of Brennan consumed him, and felt guilty sleeping next to his fiancée in his bed while he thought of someone else. He tore the old sheets and made the bed up using the best linen he had in the house. Checked the bathroom and then thought although it was clean since no one used it, it still needed some scrubbing and dusting, he made a mental note to get to it sometime before Brennan moved in, it is too soon now anyway and his son would be home in a few minutes, he needed to discuss this with Parker. He panicked there for a moment, what has he done, the last time he shared his house with someone, Parker refused to stay at home and spent all his time at Rebecca, now things are good with him and Parker, they have a routine, they are comfortable living together alone, he did not want that to change. He promised himself that if he felt the slightest hesitation from Parker he would do his best to help Brennan find a house within a week and move out. He cannot do the same mistakes over and over again, he was over all of this mess, he had made his mind while on his vacation in Hawaii, he was a new man now, he lived for Parker only and Parker alone.

"Hey Bub, how was your day?"

"Great, thanks for letting me spend the day with the Hayes, I had a lot of fun, Samy and Ray are great, they promised to show me new techniques to improve my basketball three pointers so I can beat Avan, but I am sure they will teach Avan the same thing, they love her a lot you know, I wish I had someone to love like that" Parker said after dropping to the couch with a loud thud.

"I thought you loved Avan" Booth teased

"I mean a sister, I don't love Avan like that, I am going to marry Avan, that is when I am older of course"

"Is that so ?"

"Yeah" Parker replied nonchalantly as if this was a fact up to no discussion.

Booth let it go, he did not need to break his son's heart now, specially not at Christmas by telling him that no one knows how things will be in the future and that Avan may not love him back when she is older and that people change, after all just because he was a loser and could not get anyone to love him back it does not mean that Parker will lead the same life.

"Come here Bub, I need to discuss something with you, something important and serious, and I want you to promise me to be honest with me and in return I promise I am not going to be upset whatever it is you tell me ok Bub!"

"I am not having sex" Parker blurted out

"What?" Booth asked confused

"I am not you know, having sex with Avan, I just love her, and she loves me, and we kissed this time I told you about that is all I promise" Parker explained

"I know Parker, I am happy you are telling me this, but this is not what I wanted to talk to you about" Booth continued

"It isn't ?" Parker wished that he waited to listen to his dad before he revealed his secrets to his father

Booth shook his head and tapped the seat next to him.

"Parker what I am about to tell you is important, but nothing is more important to me than you, I want you to believe this ok, I have asked a friend of mine to move in with us"

When the look of alarm showed on Parker's face, Booth placed his hand on Parker's hand and resumed his explanation; "she will be moving into the spare guest room, it is only for a while until she finds a place of her own".

"Is she like poor and homeless?"

"No Parker, in fact she has a lot of money but she does not have a place of her own at the moment"

"Ah, I see, and is she like your girlfriend? Do I know her? It is not Hannah? Is it?"

"No, Yes and No Parker"

"I don't understand" Parker exclaimed

"No, she is just a friend, and it is not Hannah, and yes you know her, or at least knew her, it is Dr Brennan" Booth finished his sentence not moving his eyes from his son's face wanting to catalogue any resentment or hesitation.

"Oh, yeah , sure whatever"

"Are you sure Parker, because if you are not I can call her and tell her that I can help her look for a house"

"No dad, it is fine, I don't mind, in fact I am just not sure why we stopped seeing her all these years"

"I am sorry Bub, I know you liked her a lot back then, it was just grown up stuff and we both screwed up"

"Ok Dad, I understand, can I go to my room now" Parker asked

"Sure Park" Booth was not happy with Parker's reaction and he knew Parker was not telling him the truth, his heart sank until he heard his son's bedroom door open again and Parker calling him

"Hey Dad"

"yes Parker"

"Try not to mess it up this time"

Booth did not reply but he sighed in contentment.


	18. Chapter 18

_**Please Read, Enjoy and Review, I really need your review this time, if you think I am going too slow and dragging things then tell me , and if you think I should continue the story then also let me know.**_

The Turkey recipe was a success at the Booth household, their huge turkey was now mocking them, for they could not finish quarter of it, Booth had made way too many side dishes and went out of his way with deserts. Parker teased throughout the day, asking him if he was in training now for when Dr. Brennan will be moving in, but Booth shrugged explaining that Dr. Brennan did not even eat any of the stuff that he had cooked today, for one thing she eats only organic vegetarian food, and as for deserts he still remembered she did not like her fruits cooked.

"Well at least the place smells nice" Parker said

"What do you mean, of course it does, it always does except when you leave your tennis shoes by the door Parker" Booth was a bit insulted by his son's comment, did he not take care of the house before? but he could not let the opportunity pass by without warning his son about some of his bad habits, like leaving things scattered around the house namely his shoes, and on so many occasions Booth tripped over Parker's school backpack, other than that Parker was a good kid, did his fair share of chores, and cleaned after himself, his room however spoke well of the chaos of an artist in the making. Although most of the paintings Parker did at his studio at Rebecca's place, the rough drafts resided at Booth's home, but away from any prying eyes, those things were not to leave his room at any cost. Booth tried several times to ask him if he would like any of his drafts hanged around the house, but Parker always refused saying that his master piece has to be the first one to be hanged in the house and he was not ready for it yet.

Sitting on the couch both Booth men sipped the hot chocolate Parker prepared with extra marshmallows and the conversation between them was the perfect setting for a Christmas Eve. They reminisced about old Christmases when Parker was young, trips with his mother, they laughed at how Rebecca had always hooked up with someone with Vermont connection as long as Parker could remember, they discussed James, Rebecca's current serious relationship and Booth could not be prouder of his son when Parker announced that he believes his mom had the right to finally find happiness, and he wished that her relationship would work out this time. Booth also shared some of his teens memories, the good holidays he had spent with grandfather, after his dad had left, and before the army and before all the death and mayhem he had to see. As the clock sounded announcing eleven o'clock both men got up to get ready for midnight mass at their church.

Christmas morning came too fast for both men, Parker had gotten over the period in his life where he felt it was necessary for him to wake up early to catch what Santa had brought him, since he learned the truth about his mom and dad being the real Mr and Mrs Clause, he knew that sleeping in on Christmas morning in his warm bed would not harm or deduct any points from him on the Santa Good or Naughty list. However the shrieking sound of his father's phone left in the living room the night before was slowly waking him up from his deep slumber.

"Umm Dad" Parker yelled, "are you awake"

Paker held both hands into fists and was wiping the sleep off his big brown eyes when he bumped straight into his father's solid form.

"Good morning Parker, it is about time you woke up, Good morning and Merry Christmas to you too" Booth said to his son, Parker , who never ceased to amaze him, was by no means a morning person, but it would take him a trip to the bathroom to become his old jolly folly self.

"Mmmmm yeah dad"

Booth chuckled,

"I guess my Christmas morning hug and wish could wait till after your nice trip to the bathroom, hurry up though we are meeting Dr Brennan in an hour"

Parker waved his hand and closed the door to the bathroom, fifteen minutes later he was down all dressed and ready for an active day.

"Merry Christmas dad, you are my favorite dad, I love you" Parker said

"Merry Christmas to you too my favorite son and I love you too" Booth teased back. It was their favorite special morning greeting, they used it usually during the holidays and it used to drive Rebecca crazy, but it was theirs and theirs only.

"Dad, are we having breakfast here?"

"No actually we are meeting Dr. Brennan at Dr. Hodgins' place, we will be picking her up there and get breakfast on the way, is that alright?"

"Yeah Sure"

"Good, now let's hurry and open the presents"

"Dad, can we maybe do it later?" Parker asked

"But we always open presents in the morning" Booth explained walking down the hall to the tree

The next thing Parker said warmed Booth's heart

"I am thinking since Dr. Brennan will be coming tonight to spend her first night with us, it would be good to have something to do in the evening"

"Parker, I am not sure, you see, it will be odd that we exchange gifts and have nothing for Bo… I mean Dr. Brennan" Booth had refrained from calling Brennan " Bones" in front of his son, he thought it would be best for now, keep a little distance and have some kind of boundaries. When Parker was ready things could move forward between them.

"I am sure I can pick up something for her from the gift shop at the Adventures Park, they have all kind of stuff, and I have saved up my allowance this month to buy new canvas so I am sure I can spare some money"

"Parker, I don't want you to do that, that is your money" Booth said

"Exactly, so I do with it as I wish, as long I am not buying anything illegal" Parker said sternly.

"Sure if you are certain, so let's go" Booth relented then and put his arm around his son's shoulder and dragged him out the door.

The drive to the Hodgins' estate was full of cheers and Christmas Carols, both men sang though terribly and off tune, they still had fun.

Parker was first to jump from the car as soon as it stopped, he turned 360 degrees taking the place in, the estate was huge, and the garden around was very well manicured and looked like very well taken care of. Booth followed his son, and knocked softly at the door, after placing his finger on the bell button at the right of the oak wood door.

"Well hello there, I cannot call you mini Booth anymore, look at you all grown up" Angela hugged parker and kissed him on the cheek.

Parker blushed and awkwardly retreated from her embrace only to be tapped by the shoulder by none other than the Bug man himself

"Hey man, it is good to see, I sure hope you were not hitting on my woman there" Hodgins said in a mock warning tone

Parker stood straighter and seriously said "No sir"

Two minutes later with all the pleasantries said, Hodgins guided them into the kitchen where they insisted that the duo would join them for breakfast. Angela trailed behind them and held Booth back with her in the hallway.

"Ok, listen G-Man and listen good, don't hurt her, she has had enough and don't screw it up this time, not many people get second chances but you did, so don't…"

Booth cut her off before she could continue

"No, you! Don't Angela, I had enough people butting into my business before, you stay away, Bones is my friend and I am just helping her" Booth felt awkward being rude to Angela in her own house but she did ask for it didn't she? He thought to himself

"Is that so, what are you helping her with big man, a place to crash, because there seem to be over twenty rooms here she could live in, but still she chose to live in a hotel, so don't tell me what and what not to butt into, because I know my friend, she is giving you another chance, a clean slate, so again I say Don't Screw it up"

Booth did not get a chance to answer before they heard the loud voice of Tara shrieking followed by Parker's laugh.

"Well I guess your son is getting along with my daughter, let's go G-man, you are grouchy when you are hungry" Angela decided to control the situation and proposing food was a good peace offering, but she did not know the new Booth so she was surprised when he stood his ground and just held Angela's elbow gently and turned her towards him.

"Angela, I am sorry, I do not want to be rude in your own home, thank you for having us for breakfast, I would really appreciate you not putting any ideas in Bones head, if you don't want her to get hurt. I am not the same man, I live for my son, I am not going down that road anymore, it was all in the past, and it is all signed and sealed now. I am not planning to be anything but a gentleman and a good friend to Bones".

"Ok, Booth I understand, let's go, they will be wondering where are we at."

Angela had to cut this conversation short, she was definitely not going to let Booth win, yeah he maybe won this round but there will be time to talk to him again. For now her family was waiting for her in the Kitchen to have their Christmas' Breakfast.

Booth sat down next to Brennan at the table; she turned and wished him a good morning and a merry Christmas he returned the wishes gently as if he was whispering them to her earls only. The breakfast was very colorful and although they were seated in the kitchen the setting was not any less than fancy, the white expensive table cloth and the red poinsettia centre piece decorating the table surrounded by the very Christmassy china plates. They ate in silence for the majority of the time, except when Tara would say something to Parker, she seemed to get along well with him and she was now seated next to him sharing his hash browns.

"So everyone is ready" Booth called after he came back from the restroom, only to find the kitchen empty except for Bones. She was sitting by the widow sipping her coffee. He looked at her raising his eyebrows questioning where everyone was at.

"Parker saw a painting on his way to the guest bathroom and he asked about it, so now he is with Angela touring the place showing him some of the arts, Hodgins has taken Tara to her room to get her changed and ready, I have coffee for you in a travel mug" She handed him the mug and waived him to sit next to her by the window out looking the garden.

"So, do we need to get your luggage from the hotel in the evening?" Booth asked

"Well I checked out yesterday, and spent the night here last night, so I have everything in my car, I will drive my car to **your** place once we drop Tara off.

"Our place Bones" Booth corrected

"It is your place Booth; I am merely staying until I find a suitable apartment"

"Well you see, here is the thing, for now as long as you stay with us, it is as much your home as it is mine and Parkers, and we will talk about me reclaiming the house as my own if you move out"

Parker walked into the kitchen telling his dad that the place was awesome, even better that the art museum, he also dropped the bomb on his dad's head claiming that Angela offered to help him with his painting.

It was not left unnoticed that Angela had yet again found a way to get involved into his life, even if she meant to help his son and enrich his talent.

Quick goodbyes and forty minutes later the Booth duo with Brennan and the very active Tara were at the gate of the Adventures Park. They spent the day between entertaining Tara with toddler games and giving enough time for Parker to try the go cart, the lazer tag and the several games designed for his age. Brennan had even participated with Parker in one of his games while Booth watched Tara on the merry go round. For a stranger eye they looked like a happy family spending Christmas day with their kids, albeit both adults were cautious and kept their distance and any physical engagement to a minimum. Booth although did not say anything, he noticed that Bones and Parker were walking on eggshells around each other, Parker was keeping his distance and Booth knew although he told him it was not his fault that he broke up with Hannah, Parker felt guilty and he thought the only chance his dad would get with Bones would be if he stayed away, so Bones would not hate him and run away in the other direction. He had made a logical reasoning, his mom's relationship where always doomed when he was living with her and now that he was finally living with his dad, things were getting better for his mom, ergo he was the problem. Booth decided to let it go, Bones is moving in, they will get their footing eventually, he didn't need to force both of them together.

Parker winked at his dad, informing him that mission was a success; Parker had left for ten minutes with an excuse to go the bathroom although his destination was to the gift shop. He had picked a wool scarf for Brennan with matching gloves and a hat and he was now standing with a bag in his left hand.

The trip back to the Hodgins' estate was uneventful, Tara and Parker dozed off and Booth and Brennan busied themselves with their own thoughts, until Booth tapped Brennan's shoulder trying to get her attention.

"Where did you go Bones?"

"I am here, and certainly cannot go anywhere while the vehicle is at high speed I might add, but if you meant metaphorically, I could ask you the same think" she finished with pride not only she understood the reference but she used it against him

"Well I cannot go anywhere, that would be dangerous since I am driving, and if you meant metaphorically, I was just concentrating on the road, and I am not driving fast I might add"

They sat silently for another ten minutes until Brennan spoke:

"Booth , thank you for sharing your home with me"

"You are always welcome".


	19. Chapter 19

_Hi everyone, it is me again, I am afraid I am not really happy with this next chapter, only because I had real trouble writing it and capturing the right emotion. I promise you it will get better just bare with me here, it is an awkward situation and they are both finding their footing._

It was four o'clock when they dropped off Tara, Hodgins was still out visiting Tye at the hospital but Angela had come back home to stay with the kid the rest of the evening, she invited the trio in to come in and have a drink, and Parker all but begged for his father to agree, however Brennan sensed Booth hesitation and declined saying that she still needs to get to Booth's house and unpack all her stuff. She eased Parker by promising that she will bring him with her when she visited Angela in the near future.

Parker jumped back into the SUV with his dad, and when he noticed that Brennan was driving her own car back to their place he jumped seats and buckled himself next to Booth.

Ten minutes into the drive back to the house Booth broke the silence

"Parker, I have never asked you to pretend, I've always wanted you to be honest with me and with yourself, but I am afraid, for the first time I am going to ask you not to be, I want you if you ever feel uncomfortable with Dr Brennan being in the house, to not show her that, I want you at your best behavior and make her feel at home, but at the same time, I want you to come to me and tell me how you feel, and I will immediately sort things out. Do you understand"

"Yes Dad, don't worry, I am ok with Dr. B to be sharing our home"  
"What did you call her?"  
"Well she asked me not to call her Dr. Brennan and to call her Temperance or Tempe but I asked her if I could call her Dr. B and she said yes"

Parker recalled the conversation he had with Brennan at the adventure park, she had asked him not to be too formal with her and call her by her first name, but he told her that he was not comfortable calling her with her first name, so when he asked if he could call her Dr. B, he could see the hurt on her face but she shook her head and asked if he picked the name from Hodgins, but then he explained that no Dr. B was short for Dr Bones, the same name he used when he was kid. She laughed then and brought her arm to place it around his shoulder and walk with him towards the merry go round where his dad was watching Tara very attentively.

"ok Parker, let's go in, and turn the heat up and get the lights on, Brennan will be here shortly" Booth said

"sure, I will just place her gift under the tree as well".

Couple of hours later Booth knocked on Brennan's bedroom door and waited till she opened

"Hey, Booth! Come in"

"I just came to check on you, are you all settled, do you need anything?"

"Yeah, I am fine for tonight, some of my stuff is still in storage, and I was thinking I will go and get them tomorrow"

"Sure, I will come with you"

"You don't have to do that Booth, you have Parker"

"Don't worry about Parker, he is with his friends tomorrow, shooting hoops"

"Isn't he too young for guns and hunting Booth?" she looked confused

"It's hoops, Basketball Brennan, no guns involved"

"I see, so did you want anything else Booth" she resumed seeing as Booth refused to get in into her room but still held the door open and was still standing.

"Ah! Yeah, Parker is waiting to open Christmas presents, he refused to open them in the morning until you were here"

"Sure I will come down in a minute, can you please just take this with you" she handed him a big box wrapped with night blue shining paper and huge green bow resting on top.

"What is that?"

"Well you will find out soon enough, just go, I will change and come down in a bit"

Booth walked back holding the big box handing it to his eager son to be placed under the tree.

The evening progressed awkwardly at first, until Parker announced that they should order dinner in, and use the time until food arrives to open all the presents. Both adults sat down after agreeing that Chinese food would be acceptable for everyone.

Parker enthusiastically tore the wrapping paper from the gift his father handed to him, and his eyes widened in surprise. He did not expect his dad to agree to the iPad since he always told him, that he could use Booth's computer and he did not need another gadget. He hugged his dad and kissed him profusely before moving to hand Brennan her gift.

"Parker, you shouldn't have, thank you" Brennan said shyly, she was touched that Parker would include her in their gift exchange.

Next the Booth duo agreed to open the big box Brennan brought in, since it had both of their names on it, they shared the privilege of opening the box together.

The box was full of white foam cushioning an electrical device set in the middle.

"What is that Dr. B" Parker called confused.

"Well this is a Projector, I know your love watching movies, and your dad always wanted a big screen TV, I thought this could be a compromise, you can link it to your DVD or laptop and Project it on the white wall over there, so it is even bigger than any big screen TV"

"OH WOW, this is so cool, thanks Bo… Brennan"

"We can watch Jason Statham new movie dad, all action, thanks Dr. B"

Brennan was very happy with herself, Hodgins had suggested that she buys the big screen TV for them, but she thought Booth would feel awkward about it, although she knew a state of the art Projector like the one she got would cost just as much as the big screen TV, but Booth would never know, hence he would not reject her gift.

It was an emotional moment for Booth and Brennan when Parker gave his father the huge canvas. Booth delicately removed the gold wrapping paper revealing Parker's first master piece. Brennan's eyes teared up, the painting was like a shot of happiness through her eyes, it was a picture of a little boy standing in front of his dad next to a Christmas tree, and both were looking up. She remembered the scene from years ago, when Booth and Parker brought her the Christmas tree to celebrate with her family in the jail.

"Oh! Parker this is beautiful, thank you son, I am so proud of you" Booth brought his son to his chest and crashed him in a forceful hug.

Parker beamed with happiness, he knew his dad would like the gift, and he meant to capture the happiest moment he remembered from his past, the happiest he had seen his father.

Booth moved away fast from in search for the perfect spot for Parker's painting; he found just the right place on the wall facing the main door. He removed the pathetic faux painting from the wall and replaced it with his Son's master piece.

After dinner Parker headed to his room leaving both adults around the fireplace sitting in silence. Booth was first to speak.

"Would you like something to drink?"

"Booth, you don't have to treat me like a guest, you said I can treat this as home"

"yeah sure, but I was going to have something and I thought you would like to join me"

"Yeah, Thank you Booth"

Booth walked to the dining room and opened the cabinet, he held his good scotch there for when it was a special occasion, and what better occasion than Christmas with Brennan.

"Booth, Parker's talent is exemplary, you must be really proud of him"

"Yeah I am, except this is really the first time he let me have any of his work" Booth stated

"You should really let Angela work with him, she can enrich his talent a lot, and there are also good schools of art that are appropriate for his age"

"Yeah I know, I will look up some schools, Angela has a lot on her plate with work and her kid, she doesn't have the time"

"Well couple of hours a week will not be a problem, I am sure, I will ask her tomorrow"

"No! I mean please don't" his voiced sounded angrier and louder than he intended

"I am sorry Booth, I don't mean to interfere" she retreated afraid that maybe she had stepped some boundaries; just because she was living in his house it did not mean she can interfere in the way he raised his son.

"It is ok, I am sorry too, I did not mean to be harsh, it just that Angela is just Angela you know"

"I don't know what that means" she looked at him in confusion, of course Angela was Angela who else would she be.

"Don't worry about it, I will think about it and discuss it with Rebecca ok, now tell me when are you back at work?"

"I am back after New Year, I have taken the week off, I thought I could use the time off to get ahead with my next book" Brennan explained

"mmm Good"

They sat in silence for a while until Brennan turned to look at Booth again; he watched her watching him for a minute before asking her

"What?"

"Huh"

"Why are you watching me?" Booth asked

"I am just contemplating asking you something"

Booth could not read her emotions so he had to take the direct approach and ask her

"So what would that be?"

"Why did you avoid calling me by my name the whole day?" She sounded hurt

"What do you mean, I used your name"

"No Booth, on several occasions you called me Brennan, other times you used Hey but not even once you called me by my name"

"Well I rarely use your name Temperance" he knew she was not referring to that, but still he did not have the heart to say it.

Brennan nodded and gulped the rest of her drink and placed her glass on the coffee table in front of her before standing up and calling good night to Booth.

"Good night Temperance" Booth called

"It is Bones Booth, Good night"

_Let me hear it people Love/Hate What is it going to be ;)_


	20. Chapter 20

**Hi everyone, sorry to keep you waiting for so long, I have things going in real life that made me stay away from writing for a while  
Well for one, My Niece and Nephew have their school holidays and they traveled with my Brother and his wife to visit me :) which is great.  
I am working on a new project for my work (and the first draft completed on Friday YAY)  
and the third thing, is one of my favorite writers on FF decided to post her 60K words fan fiction all at once and once I started reading I could not stop. Plus my hubby was annoyingly claiming I do not spend time with him. So I had to step away but I am back.**

I am sorry for the long A/N , but I have few more things to say before I post the chapter, I am begging and really begging that you bare with me, this is a really difficult time for Booth and Brennan , so the moment has not come yet, there is still things to discuss things to get worse before they get better "Just saying"

So here goes Chapter Twenty

"Uhhhh Booth" a very disheveled Brennan went in search of Booth early in the morning

"In the Kitchen" Booth was all dressed and holding a spatula in his right hand and a pan in the other

"Booth, I don't seem to find a mirror in your house" Brennan looked confused, holding her toothbrush while she tried to dry her hair with the towel that was obviously beginning to slide from her shower dampened hair.

"Yeah, I am sorry about that, I didn't get around fixing one in your bathroom; there is one in my room, and one in Parker's bathroom, though I don't recommend the later"

"Why not?"

"Well, it is freaky, he made me buy it from a carnival last year, it makes your face looks ten times bigger and your eyes smaller, try it out at your own discretion"

She left Booth in the kitchen and she guided herself towards Booth's bedroom. The room was nothing she expected, Dark walls, Chocolate brown almost black, with almost hazel to orange squares scattered in no logical reason or design; the bed was not in the centre of the room but rather lay diagonally in the corner. The bed sheets and linen were dark blue and orange, in the centre of the room two small coffee tables one slightly larger and higher than the other rested in front of a chocolate brown couch with blue pillow throws. She had not imagined Booth would go for such a modern look. Maybe it was Hannah's design, which he had to live with now. She shook her head and went straight to his bathroom, the memories of once walking in on him in his bathroom while he was in the tub came rushing to her, as soon as she sow the claw foot bathtub in the corner. She smiled warmly but didn't linger and walked towards the large mirror.

Ten minutes later she came down again to find Booth resting his elbows on the table with his eyes closed.

"Are you praying Booth?" she asked

"What?, No, I was just thinking, did you find the mirror ok?"

"Yeah, but I have to say Booth, I did not expect what I found in your room"

"You went through my stuff" Booth was on alert now, he did not want her snooping around his stuff, there were too many things he has yet to share with her and it was not the time.

"Of course not, I only meant the design, the colors, and your furniture placement"  
"Well this is a new bedroom set, It is the only new furniture I bought to this house, after you know Hannah left, I needed a change and I just kind of went crazy with it. The painting of the wall was all Parker's idea, and the Bed in the corner just makes sense to me, it is more private, I don't need my bed facing the door"

"I understand, if you indulged in self gratification one night you don't want Parker to walk in on you…"

"WOW, let's not get there ok, it is not that, far from it actually"

"It is ok actually, Booth it is natural, you are a healthy male specimen and it is …."  
"Breakfast is ready, eat up" he held the plate and pushed it towards her.

She took the plate and a fork and dug into the pancake Booth had prepared for her, she meant to tell him not to prepare breakfast anymore, not that she did not enjoy it, it is just she felt guilty taking up his space and did not want him to wait on her. But she knew the minute she would say something, Booth is either going to be hurt or he will tell her to shut her yap and just enjoy the food. So she chose to be quiet for now.

"Hey, I can hear your mind, you sure think aloud, what's on your mind?"

"I am just wondering why aren't you having breakfast as well?" she lied

"Well I woke up early, made breakfast for Parker and myself and dropped him off to his friend's place, so we have the place to ourselves, what do you say we go crazy" Booth suggested wiggling his eyebrows at her

"you mean we have sexual intercourse?" Brennan was confused why would Booth suggests something like that but she had to be sure and understand his intentions.

"What? No, that's not what I meant, you see when the parents leave for the day and leave their teenage children at home, they tend to do stuff in the house, have a party, play loud music, dance, watch movies, cook and mess up the place, you know stuff like that"

"Ah, I see, I am sure that neither of us is a teenager and we both know that our parents did not …"

"Too literal, now what do you want to do for the day. I am taking Parker for Dinner do you want to come with?" He asked her hesitantly

"I don't want to intrude Booth"

"You won't be, Parker would love to have you there (He wasn't sure about Parker's feeling on the matter but telling her a little white lie was ok he thought), plus it's a monthly thing we do, we try out a new cuisine, it will be fun, this month it is Parker's choice, so what do you say?"

"Only if you ask him first Booth"

"Sure I will, now what do you want to do?"

"Well I was thinking we could go and get my stuff from storage"

It was early afternoon when both adults got back home, Booth had helped carry her stuff up to her bedroom ignoring her protests, she asked him to sit while she unpacked the several boxes and her suitcase.

"I will leave you to it, I will just go down and watch some TV"

"Booth" she called to him before he reached the door, he turned to on his heel to find her in his face, while she didn't expect him to be this close she gasped and took a step back only to trip on one of the boxes she had just emptied. Booth was there to hold her once again and prevent her from falling; she clutched his arms more tight than necessary.

"What's it with you and tripping, we keep bumping into each other, I will just give you some room"

He started to move away but she refused to let go, she locked her eyes to him and shook her head

"Booth, why are you avoiding me?"

"I am not avoiding you, I asked you to move in, how am I avoiding you?"

"Booth, your actions are confusing me, yes you asked me to come and stay in the spare room, but all you did since I moved in is avoid being with me in the same space, and when you have to stay in the same space you avoid talking to me, and when the need arises to talk to me, you avoid looking into my eyes, what is wrong with you, what is wrong with us?"

"There is no us, the only us is me and Parker" the minute the words left his mouth he regretted them, but it was too late to take them back, it was too late to explain what is going on with his mind, he himself was not sure why he was acting and reacting like this. He was too scared his son would get hurt again, he was too scared to open up his heart again, after wasting a long time trying to make his relationship with Hannah work, things crumbled, he was not willing to go down that road, he was done with offering his unconditional love to people that did not want what he wanted. And right now his goal was to try and accept the fact that his little family that consisted of Parker was the only thing he is ever going to have, he wouldn't dare to dream and hope, he was done.

She let go of him, and watched him move away. She was surrounded by silence, the sound of single tear drop on the cardboard box at her feet woke her of her reverie, she was not sure why she was crying, was it because Booth the best friend she once had, was a stranger to her now, all the markers that were Booth were not there anymore, or for having her heart crushed all over again. She gave up the unpacking process and dropped on the bed willing herself to get some needed sleep. She needed to regroup, find her rationality, she was too emotional and she needed herself back.

Parker was dropped back home by six in the evening, he looked dirty like he was wrestling in mud, but his eyes were bright and he had a wide grin on his face which even with his dad sulky mood, he could not wipe out.

"Why are you grinning like an idiot?" Booth shot his son an irritated look, he knew it was not right to get back at his son for something it was all his fault.  
Parker knew there was something wrong, his father had never used this tone with him, except when things were really bad.

"Well, I was not here the whole day, so it cannot be me that made you mad, what is it, why are you angry?" Parker had ignored his father's comment, he knew his dad would soon feel guilty about snapping at him, so he thought might as well try and get him to talk it out.

"Nothing, I am not mad"

"Sure, I can see, you are as jolly as Santa" Parker said, sarcasm dripping out of his lips, it seems spending time with two college boys for most of the day taught him a thing or a two.

"Parker!" The minute Booth yelled Brennan was out of her room in shock, she watched the scene unfold in front of her, Parker with his teary eyes climbing the steps and running to his room slamming the door after him.

If watching Parker being yelled at was alarming to Brennan, seeing Booth laughing as he slumped down back on the couch was shocking


	21. Chapter 21

**Thanks everyone for the lovely reviews, and because you are the best, you get one more chapter today :) so here it goes. Although this does not address Booth's state of mind, I promise the next one will, at least this one will calm the waters.**

Brennan tapped softly at Parker's door half an hour later; when she tried the door knob and found the door not locked she pushed the door a little and peeked.

"Dad I don't want to talk about it, I will come down later to apologize, but please I don't want to talk now" Parker mumbled not looking behind him

"Hey Parker, it is me can I come in" she asked hesitantly

"Sure Dr B"

Parker welcomed her into his room, he vacated his seat at his desk to offer it to her, and she reluctantly took it. She was not sure how to start this conversation with him, she was sure in her mind that she had caused the riff, maybe Parker did not want her to go to dinner with him and his dad but Booth pushed, but why would Booth insist, he was avoiding her anyway. Being a scientist is what she needed now, evidence not conjectures.

"Parker, I am really sorry" very pathetic she thought to herself, but this is the best she could do.

"Why, it is not your fault, Dad is agitated with something, and I was being a wise ass (oops, sorry, excuse my French)" Parker blushed then.

"I don't believe you have spoken a word in French, but I assume you should not be using this language"

"Yeah! I shouldn't, so it is not your fault"

"Parker, I will be moving out in week I promise"

"But why, I love having you here, I know I have not actually spent much time with you, it is just I have been busy with my holidays and all, but we haven't even talked much yet"

"I think me being here is putting strain on your relationship with your father and I cannot do that"

"No" Parker shook his head vehemently, "we are fine, he just gets upset sometimes, most of the time he pretends to be happy around me, but at least he is not pretending anymore, I can see he is happy that you are here but something is making him mad and I am not sure what it is"

"I am not good with these sort of things Parker, I am not sure I can help"

"You and I, will find out, I can be his friend sometimes, but he doesn't like to worry me, so he would never really tell me what it is, if mom were here, she would talk to him, but you are, and he is your friend right?"

"Yeah Parker, he is. So are you hungry?"

"I had made plans to go and try this restaurant, but I am not sure he wants to go anymore" Parker said sadly disappointed.

"you just get ready, I will go and talk to him, it is still early so you can still make it"

"Will you go with us Bones?"

When hearing her name even from the younger Booth her heart beat soared, she had missed hearing the Booths calling her that, therefore she was left with two things to do, she nodded in affirmation to the little man and went in search for the grumpy Booth.

"Booth, are you in here" she walked into Booth's room to find him splayed on his bed horizontally; his legs bent at the knees with his feet were still touching the floor.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came to check on you, are you alright?"

"I don't know, I am not sure" he huffed. She was standing at the side of the bed over Booth's head, she placed her arms on each side of his head and looked down at him. In return Booth had to strain his neck to the back and up to be able to see her.

"You are giving me a headache standing over me like this" Booth said in attempt to make her leave.

"Alright, I'll just move and sit next to you then" she laid herself on her back next to him, mimicking his position, but soon enough she rolled on her side and took Booth's face to turn it in her direction.

"You cannot keep avoiding me Booth" "I am living in your house. If you want me out sooner than next month then I will go back to the hotel and start looking"

When he did not answer her, she moved her right arm seeking his hand and linked her fingers with his. "Booth can we talk later, now your son is waiting for you to take him to dinner. I told Parker I would come, but I think it is better you two spend some alone time together, sort things out"

Booth nodded before she released his hand and left to her room.

It took forty five minutes for the boys to be at the restaurant, Parker had chosen a restaurant on DuPont circle, and a whimsical for lack of better word place occupied the lower level of a town house. The atmosphere was very casual and fun, soon the Booths were seated on a table for two by a draped window and were brought a hot drink, soon were told it was called Mattee, although it contained little bit of caffeine, it was safe for young to drink it, the young waiter had commented that it is the equivalent of tea in the mountains of Lebanon and Syria.

Booth had never had a hot drink sipped through a metal straw before, so he immediately burned his tongue, so he moved the round funny looking container and decided that he would wait till it is lukewarm before trying it again. Parker on the other hand, knew what to expect, so he added sugar to the drink and placed it aside looking through the large menu engraved on a cedar wooden log placed in front of him.

Booth eyed his son and blurted the first thing that came out of his mind.

"Parker, this is not a menu, this is log of wood, do you think after we read it they go and place it in the fireplace over there?"

"Yeah they do, and then they make another set the next day" Parker said sarcastically.

"I am sorry dad, I didn't mean to be disrespectful, but I don't know what I thought"

"I know Parker I am sorry too, I shouldn't have yelled"

It was all they needed, a good dinner; they decided that they should bring Bones to this place sometime; the restaurant had a variety of salads and vegetarian dishes called Mezzeh which Brennan would enjoy very much.

By the time they tried the stuffed vine leaves and the salad that was too sour for Parker's taste buds they were making jokes and laughing hysterically. Their nights were always good for both of them, they left them very high spirited and happy with all the worries of the world behind their backs.

It was close to nine when they finished their dinner and were heading home, Booth's phone vibrated in his pocket alerting him to a voice mail. Booth always kept his phone on silent whenever he was with Parker, but left his voice mail on vibration so he can check if there were any emergencies. He picked his phone and dialed the number to his voice mail. Rebecca voice sounded slightly rushed to him

"Seeley, call me once you are alone, I have something to discuss with you, and no it cannot wait until tomorrow"

Booth Parked the car in front of the house and turned to his son.

"Hey Buddy, thanks for dinner tonight, it was a good choice, I love you Parker you know that"

Parker moved across the console hugging his dad tightly "I love you too Dad"

"Do me a favor buddy, go in check in on Dr Brennan for me, I will be there in a while, I need to make this call, it is work"

"Sure dad" Parker said before jumping out of the SUV, but before he closed the door he looked at his dad and said

"Say Hi to mom for me dad, and tell her I will talk to her tomorrow" as soon as finished his sentence he winked at Booth and went to unlock the door to the house.

Booth smiled when Parker left, his son was very perceptive, he had Booth's reading people skills and lying to Parker had proved to be more difficult by the day.

"Hey Beccs, what's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong Booth, James Proposed and I said yes" Rebecca informed Booth

"Wow Rebecca, Congratulations, it is rather fast though don't you think?"

"I know, and after I said yes, I kind of freaked out"

"It is ok Rebecca, James is a good man, and you love him right?"

"Yes I do, I really do then what is wrong with me, why am I freaking out here"

"Hey, it is ok to freak out, just don't go running away from Vermont to DC on foot" Booth chuckled.

"Seely !"

"Hey Beccs, listen James loves you, you love him, you both deserve the chance to be happy, so when is the wedding?"

"Summer after Parker's school"

"Ok good, so you have all the time to adjust to the idea, listen, just know that I am happy for you and that Parker will be thrilled, I love you Rebecca"

"I love you too Seeley, Thank you very much"

And with that he clicked his phone off and entered his warm house to see Bones standing in front of parker where he was trying to show her the right moves to make to shoot a perfect three points into an imaginary basket.

"Are we playing imaginary Basketball?" Booth called

"No, I was just showing Bones how to shoot hoops"

"Ok, now you can show me how fast you can get to bed, because it will be ten by the time you get ready and it way past your bedtime young man"

"Ok, Good night Dad, Good night Bones" he gave both of them a gentle hug and went up to his room.

"I heard you had a good time with Parker" Brennan started talking in attempt to break the ice.

"Rebecca is engaged"


	22. Chapter 22

I am so sorry everyone for taking this long to update this story, but my week was crazy, my brother and his family left yesterday and I was so swamped with all the family dinners and parties. and then I got sick with the flu UGH !, anyway, I was able to able to write a short chapter, and since I did not want you to wait until I write more I thought I will post it.****

Enjoy and Review :)

"Rebecca is engaged"

She did not know how to respond to Booth's news, so what if Rebecca was engaged was he upset because he was a romantic, who wanted this for himself, or it is because Rebecca rejected him once and now she was accepting someone else's offer, or was it he was in love with his ex and felt bad. She was not sure what to say to him, so she chose what Booth taught her all these years the power of physical contact she held his hand in hers and moved her other hand to his head, moving it to lean toward her shoulder.

"I asked her to have another baby with me" he spoke softly.

"Oh!" that was the only word she could master to say

"After Hannah, I have decided that I am done with dating and love and relationships, I am not getting any younger, and I want a family, Parker is my only family and I thought the only way to have a bigger family that Parker would accept was to have a sibling for Parker with Rebecca, but she shot me down. She said that she would revisit this in a year if I still felt the same way, but now I guess is too late"

"I am sorry Booth"

"It is not your fault, why are you sorry?" Booth asked her

"I know it is not my fault, I am sorry you feel that way, I am sorry you are hurt, I am sorry you did not get what you wanted with Rebecca"

"yeah, well whatever, it is not meant to be I guess, for me to have this"

"to have what? Another kid?"

"No, happiness, family, someone to share my life with, I did everything right you know, I bought the house, met a woman, proposed, she agreed, but you know what, she wanted me to have an operation so I will not have kids anymore, can you believe this, my genetics are so rotten that no one would want to be with me forever, or be linked with me"

"That is not true Booth, I wanted your child"

"Yeah well, you did, only if you got to raise that child on your own, so it is the same thing, limiting my effect on said creature so it won't be anything like me"

"Booth, that is not true, and you know it, anyway it is getting late you should go to bed"

"I don't want to, it is cold up there"

"Okay… then scoot over" She pushed his back off the couch and laid behind him opening her arms to him in invitation.

"What are you doing" he asked

"Well, you said it is cold upstairs, I thought since there is enough fire in the fireplace to last couple of hours, we should lie down here"

He did not agree, nor did he say anything to reject the offer, he simple turned and his back to her and laid on the couch next to her, her arm wrapped around his waist holding him close to her, her palm resting on his chest just above his heart, her breath tickling the hair on the nape of his neck, within minutes he drifted away, he was not asleep, nor was he awake, he was in state heavenly stillness.

The minutes turned to an hour and before they know it they were both fast asleep. In their sleep they must have tossed and turned as best as they could on the couch, because now it was past midnight and Brennan back was the one facing the back of the couch with her back crushed to Booth's chest and his arm circling her tiny waist with his palm resting above her heart, except his hand was not resting at all, it was moving deliciously, palming her soft breast. He was not sure if the soft moan that escaped her mouth or the friction he felt in his pants as he ground his front to her back was the one that brought him out of slumber. He could not bring himself to move away, he thought one more hug, one more move a little closer, just a little bit more and he would stand up and go to his room but he could not, the more he got closer, the sweeter it got, and he wanted more however there was a fine line between loving the feeling and being a pervert, harassing your friend in her sleep. So he lifted his hand from her and moved to stand only to trip and fall off the couch to the carpeted floor on his back.

The loud thud woke Brennan she turned her face to look for Booth only to find him on his back on the floor with his eyes wide watching her.

"What are you doing Booth"

"I just … well I tried to get up to .. you know go to the bathroom, I tripped and fell down"

"are you ok, are you hurt, can you get up on your own?"

"Yeah sure, just give me a second, go back to sleep will ya?"

"Why?" she asked before her eyes wondered along his torso all the way down to his legs assessing if he was injured, then it clicked, he was not hurt not physically, he was aroused.

"Booth, are you arou…."

"Don't, ok …" he held his hand up to stop her from continuing her sentence "I am fine"

"I know, you are so fine" she giggled and winked at him as she looked at the evidence.

"Did you just giggle and wink at me? are you flirting with me Dr. Brennan?" he asked not embarrassed by the situation anymore but rather amused.

"I am just flattered that's all, here let me help you" she moved off the couch and held her hand down to hold him.

"Hey" he pushed her hand instantly "what the hell are you doing?"

"What, I was merely trying to help you up off the floor, I was going to hold your hand, what did you think I was going to help you with a hand job" she started giggling again.

"Oh ! God!" he put his arm trying to cover his face in embarrassment. "Just turn the other way, will ya for a second"

"No, I am going to do something better, I am going upstairs, you can move whenever you are ready" she shot up and took the stairs all the way to her room.

The morning came too fast to Booth's liking, he was not ready to face Brennan, he had not made up his mind yet if he should tell her the reason he was aroused last night was because he was enjoying her body while she was still asleep in his arms. He huffed and sighed and growled frustrated with himself for acting like a teenager, also for betraying his trusting friend, but he was a man after all, he should not be held responsible for his acts while asleep, although his acts did not actually stop when he awoke. So the decision was made, he would tell her today, and if she decided to move out of his house, then he would be a good friend and help her find a place on her own.

The knock on his door brought him to his reality earlier than he wished for; Brennan was standing at his door with a mug in her hand.

"Good morning Booth, Parker made breakfast, are you coming?"

"Good morning to you too, is this my coffee mug?" he pointed to the mug held between her long fingers

"Yeah it is your mug, but the coffee is mine, I used your mug, because my mug is chipped so I used yours" she walked towards the corner and took a seat on at the end of his large bed.

"ok, but I get to have some of this coffee then, since it is my mug you are using" he moved to take the mug off her hand but she held it away from him.

"No way, you go brush your teeth first before you put your lips anywhere near my coffee" she took a large sip enjoying teasing him

Ok if I can't get my coffee in my own mug, I will just have to get it straight from you, he jumped and crashed his lips to hers, and without warning his tongue was seeking the taste of coffee all over her lips her teeth and the inside of her mouth. Booth never enjoyed his coffee with sugar in the morning, but having coffee this sweetened with Brennan's taste was something he could live off for the rest of his life.

When the bitter taste of coffee diminished and what was left only the honey he tasted over and over on her lips he stopped abruptly moving away knowing that he had screwed up big time.

"Ah! Sorry, I am so sorry.."

Before she could answer him, Parker came running into the room telling them that breakfast is getting cold and if they don't come down this instant, he was going to eat it all by himself.


	23. Chapter 23

**I have to apologize to all of you for not updating soon, I am really sorry everyone, there have been a death in the family and I had to deal with a lot of real life issues. but I am back now to Bones, since I need a break from all the craziness and sadness.**

I would also like to inform you that this chapter is the end of this story... and I really hope you will enjoy it.

**Chapter ...**

The breakfast they had that day was devoured with no incidents, the tension between them somehow was released, they expected things would get awkward, but rules never applied to this duo, instead the closeness they shared sleeping on the couch that night, and their morning kiss which Booth initiated, did nothing but put both of them in a good playful mood. They pretended that it was all about the coffee tasting and called it a challenge that Booth offered and she of course would not back down.

The next few days were spent looking for houses for Brennan at her insistence, Parker was with them most of the time, searching houses on his new iPad, showing them to Brennan, of course he picked up huge houses with multiple stories, and huge windows, where he insisted were perfect for letting the daylight in. Parker artistic gift has taken over full force while he searched for properties, a property that did not have a large garden and at least a terrace was out of the question. Booth on the other hand he kept discouraging Brennan and he insisted that none of the properties were perfect for her. To him the only place she belonged is in the room upstairs or at least she belonged to house on the same street he lived on. He then suggested that she stays with them until spring and she can look for a house then. They would both take a week off and he would help her with moving. "It was too cold to move now" That was his argument and she relented.

The trio were now sprawled on the couch wrapped in warm blankets and watching a movie or rather arguing over a movie. Parker decided the movie was too dark, the shots could be better lit, Booth thought the story was good but the lines are too cliché and the jokes are lame, as for Brennan she argued that the movie did not do justice to the book it is based on. Nevertheless they continued watching the movie while Brennan corrected the lines uttered by the actors as originally scripted in the book she had read years ago. They were heading to bed now when Booth's phone started to ring.

"Booth"

"Hey Seeley, sorry to call so late"

"Hey Becs, what up, are you ok?" Booth placed one finger on his lips asking Brennan and Parker to keep quiet.

"Yeah, everything is great, I am calling to ask you something, I know it is late but it is better to call now than later, in case you said yes and then it would have been too late to call tomorrow….."

"Rebecca ! you are rambling, just tell me, what is it?"

"Well James and I decided to have an engagement party and we would like to invite you and Parker"

"Sure Beccs, I would love to attend, when is this, would you like me to do something to get your house ready for it?"

"No Booth, the Party is tomorrow, New years eve, here in Vermont" Rebecca said softly hoping that he could hear her pleading and he would accept to drive himself and Parker over.

"Umm Rebecca, it is kind of…"

"Seeley please, I need you and Parker with me, please, you are my only family and let me tell you James has a lot of them and I cannot be outnumbered at my own party"

"uhu … Okay! Okay! Sure Rebecca no problem, I will book a hotel and drive Parker there in the morning"

"No Seeley, we have everything prepared, you don't worry about a thing"  
"Rebecca, I kind of need to tell you something" He was walking now towards his room, he waved to Brennan good night before she closed her door.  
"yeah what is it?"

"Can I bring someone with me?"

"Are you back with Hannah Seeley?"

"No, No, it is Dr Brennan, and it is a long story, I will tell you about it when I see you. So…"

"Sure Seeley, the more the merrier, plus you need someone to kiss at midnight unless you want to share your new year's kiss with James Grandmother, I am sure she would love that"

"Ok Rebecca, thank you for the invite, we will be there"

"Sure Seeley, Good night and thank you"

Booth placed his phone on the table and headed back out towards Brennan's room. He wanted to discuss this with her and if it required convincing then he will stay up the whole night convincing her.

She heard the soft knuckle rapping on the her bedroom door, but the room was too cold to get out of her warm blankets so she simply called to Booth to come in.  
"Hey, are you still awake?" He said softly

"Yeah, come in, it is too cold and I don't want to get up, these blankets are warm. Is everything alright Booth?"

"Yeah…Ouch!" he yelped as soon as his foot hit the bed.

"sit Booth, the room is still cluttered, you will hurt yourself if you walk around in the dark"

"Why haven't you put away your things yet? And why are you sleeping in the dark?"

She ignored his questions and just lifted the blanket so he could sit next to her.  
"I can't see you, how am I supposed to talk to you like that?" he whispered  
"Why are you whispering?" she whispered back

"I don't know, it is just something you do in the dark?"

"Is it, usually it is more than whispering?" she giggled then immediately asked him again if things were ok with Rebecca

"yeah….. wow it is really cold in here? Why don't you have the heat up, are you saving me the extra bucks?"

"No of course not, but I like to get warmed up in bed by blankets, here get under the blanket and tell me why are you here?"

He sat next to sharing the same blanket and started telling her about Rebecca's invitation.

"Booth, I could not intrude?"

"Well good, because you will not be, you are invited as well, come on it is going to be fun, we will drive tomorrow spend New Year's eve there, and then maybe if the weather is good we can do skiing or snowboarding on New Year's day"

"I don't know Booth" she hesitated

"I am wearing my Booth charm smile now"

"Well, it is good I cannot see you in the dark"

"yeah, I can fix that, here hold my hand"

"Booth what are you doing?" she asked him

"Just trust me"

He took her hand in his and moved her cold fingers across his lips tracing his signature charm smile. He felt her fingers resisting his grip at first until he understood that she was only resisting his hold so she can have her hand free to explore. So he dropped his hand slowly from hers and kept quiet not wanting to spook her.

Once she touched his lips with her finger she could not stop, she kept studying every line tracing it over and over until his hot breath warmed her hand completely.

"I still cannot see it Booth"

With that he closed the distance between them and placed his lips tenderly on her lips and spoke only one word that was sure the reason she was convinced not only to spend New Years' Eve in Vermont but to spend every year there on with him.

"Bones"

**Thank you for sharing this adventure with me. Thanks for the lovely reviews I received and I hope to see you all soon with another adventure with Booth and Brennan.**


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